Commitment
by agent-mac
Summary: [UPDATED]Emily and Tom are put into NCIS protection whilst the team searches for their parents. The kids, although sweet, challenge the team both personally and professionally. Ch14: The team focus on finding the parents for Emily's sake.
1. Chapter 1

**Committment**

This is a fic written by both myself and Mel (bookwormmel). We decided to try co-writing a fic together and this is what we've come up with! We hope you all enjoy reading it as much as we've enjoyed writing it.

Thanks to Annie for editing.

Summary: Kate and Tony have been together a week when a case comes up which tests their commitment not only to each other, but to the job as well.

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Chapter 1 **

"Is it just me, or does time seem to move slower on a Friday afternoon?" Tony asked, as he looked up from his computer and checked his watch for the fourth time in ten minutes. Kate raised her eyes, looked at Tony and laughed.

"I think it's just you, Tony," she said. Tony looked back at Kate and smiled.

"Maybe it's just because I actually have a date tonight, that doesn't involve Chinese takeaway?" Before Kate could reply, McGee looked up from his computer screen and spoke to Gibbs.

"Boss, I've finished the report,"

"So have I!" Kate exclaimed, as she stood up from her desk and handed it to Gibbs.

"Good work." Gibbs accepted their reports. For a moment, McGee looked at Gibbs. Kate sat back at her desk, long ago learning not to expect anything more.

"Is that...all boss?" McGee asked nervously. Gibbs tore his eyes away from his computer screen and looked between Kate and McGee.

"Go home." Kate, McGee and Tony began to move from their desks towards the elevator. "Where are you going, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"School's out!" DiNozzo exclaimed, in a hurry to leave the building.

"You haven't finished your report. You don't leave here 'til it's done." Kate and McGee bit back their laughter at the disappointed look on Tony's face, as they continued packing away their things. Just as a deflated Tony sat back down at his desk, the phone rang. The four agents looked up in curiosity, and a mild hope that it was not another case.

"Special Agent Todd," Kate answered the phone. Kate reached for a pen and scribbled down some notes on a piece of paper as the person on the other end of the phone spoke. "We're on our way," Kate said, as she hung up the phone.

"That was a Jim Dale. He is the principal of Norfolk Naval Base primary school. He has just reported that two children, Emily and Thomas, have yet to be picked up. Their parents are Captain and Lt. Parker"

"The parents are probably just a little occupied at the moment," Tony said, with a wicked grin.

"It does seem a little premature," McGee said.

"Grab your gear," Gibbs said, ignoring the comments made by Tony and McGee. There were children involved, so this case took priority.

The team quickly gathered their gear, realising immediately that Gibbs was in no mood to kid around. They headed towards the elevator, saying goodbye to whatever weekend they had had planned.

Being a Friday afternoon, the traffic to Norfolk was particularly congested; the truck had barely stopped when Gibbs jumped out and began walking towards the entrance of the school. Kate and Tony shared a confused expression, before getting out of the truck and following Gibbs inside. McGee had driven the sedan and pulled up next to them in the car park.

"Special Agent Gibbs" Gibbs stated, showing the principal his badge, looking towards the two children sitting quietly, silently aware that something was terribly wrong. Gibbs motioned to speak to Mr Dale outside, in the hall so as not increase the children's fear.

Kate moved towards the two children and knelt down in front of them. "Hi. I'm Kate. I'm from NCIS. Do you know what that stands for?" The boy and girl both nodded.

Tony and McGee stood to the side, unsure of their role. Tony was especially uncomfortable, never finding himself able to communicate well with children. He looked on at Kate and smiled. The two children seemed to have responded to her warmth.

"So what grades are you both in?" Kate asked, in attempt to get them to relax a little bit. The youngest, six-year-old Emily Parker, looked up at Kate with tears in her eyes.

"Where's my mummy?" The boy, who wasthree years older, glared at his sister, with an angry look in his eyes. Tony looked at him and instantly recognised the look: rejection. Tony sauntered over to where Kate was kneeling in front of them and sat down next to the boy.

"I'm Tony. I work with Kate."

"I'm Thomas," the boy replied, looking seriously at his shoes.

"Can I call you Tom?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I suppose," Tom said sadly. Tony noticed that there was a soccer ball next to the boy's rucksack.

"You play soccer?"

"Yeah. I had a game tonight that Dad was meant to come to." Tom said, his voice melancholic. Tony just looked at him. His mind wandered back to his own childhood, and a flicker of anger crossed his eyes. Kate looked up at Tony and wondered what he was thinking.

"What position do you play?" Kate asked, not really knowing anything about soccer, even though her father and brothers had followed the World Cup

"Goal keeper," Tom said, his eyes lighting up at the thought. But, as soon as it had come, the happy expression quickly vanished and he retreated.

"You're the most important player," Kate replied. "Without you, the team would have no chance at all."

"I suppose," Tom mumbled. "Goal Keepers aren't as popular as the other players. Mum used to say that it didn't matter, as long as I had fun."

"Don't worry," Kate replied, "You're mum and dad will be back soon."

"Lieutenant Parker always picks her children up on time," the principal said.

"Does Captain Parker ever pick up the children?" Gibbs asked the principal. He wanted this one solved. Fast.

"I've noticed the Captain pick up his children whenever young Thomas has had a soccer game after school and he has happened to be on the base, which isn't very often."

"Have the children been behaving unusual lately? Something that could indicate that something was wrong?" Gibbs asked.

"No, not unusual. You must understand that this is a school on a Navy Base; most of the kids here, at one point or another, experience some sort of anti-social behaviour. It comes as a result of their parents being deployed to war-zones."

Gibbs took off his cap and ran his fingers through his hair. He placed his cap back on his head and gave the principal his card. "Call me if you remember anything." He turned away from the principal and surveyed his agents. Tony was sitting next to the boy, who was being less than responsive, and Kate had moved to sit next to the girl, who was crying quietly on her shoulder.

"McGee, grab the truck. We're going to their house. Tony, take them in the sedan with Kate."

As McGee brought the truck around to the front of the school, he practically had to jump out of the seat so that he wouldn't collide with Gibbs. As they drove to the naval base that was home, roughly ten minutes from the school, McGee couldn't help but notice the hardened lines of Gibbs' face. He was determined, that was for sure.

Tony was having trouble keeping up with Gibbs, who seemed to be accelerating with each intersection, instead of slowing down. He was concerned for Emily and Tom. He didn't want to wake Emily, who was still sleeping with Kate in the back seat, and he didn't want to concern Tom. As they pulled up in front of the house, he noticed that the front door was slightly ajar.

Tony cautiously undid his seat belt, and told Kate to stay in the car with Tom and Emily. She too, had noticed the door, and looked at Tony with concern in her eyes. She stretched her hand out to Tony's, who quickly squeezed it, before exiting the car and moving towards Gibbs. His hand was on his sig as he silently ran towards his boss.

"DiNozzo I want you to do a perimeter search and then enter from the rear of the house. McGee, follow me." Gibbs commanded. The agents slowly approached the house, their guns and torches drawn.

"Clear!" Tony shouted, as he made his way through the back of the house. Several shouts of "Clear!" echoed through the house. They all met together in the middle.

"Definite signs of a struggle though, Boss," Tony said, pointing at the upturned chairs. There were broken plates on the floor, and several documents had been tossed about.

"Go and check on Kate and the kids. Their rooms haven't been touched. Get her to help them pack a bag."

Just as Tony was about to leave the room, the Parker's phone rang. McGee, Gibbs and Tony exchanged glances. They noticed that the phone was attached to an answering machine and so they stood there and listened to see if the caller would leave a message.

The machine beeped, and the voice of Lt. Parker echoed throughout the room. 'Hello. You've reached the Parker's. We're unavailable to come to the phone right now, so leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.' Her spiel was followed by another beep.

There was a moment of silence, and then the caller spoke. "Hello, NCIS. That's a very pretty agent that you have sitting in the car. I hope that her shoulder doesn't get too sore."

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So, that's all we've got for you today. We'd really like some feedback on it. Please review! 

Thanks, Mac and Mel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Commitment**

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! Both Mel and I love getting reviews because it inspires us to write more!

We've written another chapter for you all!

Thanks to Annie who edited all our little typing mistakes!

Enjoy! And please continue to review if you would like us to write more!

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**Chapter 2**

Before the voice could finish his sentence on the answering machine, Gibbs and Tony both had their sigs raised and were racing towards the sedan to protect Kate, Emily and Tom.

At that moment, a small, dark sedan parked further down the street, sped away. Kate looked up fast enough to see that the first letter of the number plate was 'T.'

Kate was instantly on high alert, and her senses were aroused further when she saw Tony and Gibbs running out through the front door with their sigs in their hands.

"God Dammit," Gibbs muttered, as he reached the car. His eyes hardened with anger. "McGee, I want you to send a copy of that tape over to Abby, and then I want you to search this house for prints. Tony, go upstairs with Kate and the kids, and make sure that they don't leave your sight." Gibbs commanded.

Kate removed Emily out of her lap and placed her on the seat beside her. Tony picked her up and carried her still-sleeping form into the house. Kate ushered Tom out of the car and followed close behind Tony.

He slowly led them up the stairs to their room, where he ever so gently placed Emily on her pink quilt. Kate began pilling various clothes into a bag that she had found on top of the wardrobe, while Tom stood in the corner waiting patiently. His eyes were cast towards the ground. Tony walked over to him and ruffled his hair ever so gently.

"Hey Kid. Everything's going to be fine, okay, buddy?" Tony said, trying to offer comfort to the boy, but unsure of what to say. Kate turned around to face Tony and gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Is there anything special that you need to pack? You might have to stay somewhere else for a few days, ok, buddy? Just until we find your mum and dad," Tony said quietly. Tom shook his head slowly and looked back at Tony.

"Who will we be staying with?" Tom asked. Tony looked instantly to Kate. They hadn't got that far yet. At the moment, they just needed to get the kids to the safety of the NCIS headquarters.

Tony opened his mouth to reply, but Kate beat him to it. "We're going to take you back to NCIS and you can see where we work, then we'll find somewhere for you to stay."

Gibbs was pacing up and down the corridor, speaking on his cell phone with Director Morrow. The phone call that they had just received had more or less confirmed their suspicions of foul play. Now, they were being watched.

"Director, I need round-the-clock protection for these children. They are not safe in their own home. I want a house set up specifically for their protection."

There was a slight pause while the Director spoke.

"Agents Todd and DiNozzo will be on protection detail."

Gibbs stopped pacing when the Director spoke again.

"Yes, sir. We're almost ready to go here. Kate and Tony will be back at headquarters with the children in less than an hour. I need agents here, too, watching the house, in case-"

Gibbs stopped speaking as the Director cut him off, but as soon as he had stopped, he started again. "Not tomorrow. Now."

Gibbs walked his agents out to the sedan and gave them specific instructions regarding the protection of the children. He wanted hourly calls and he warned Tony and Kate to be especially vigilant, in case they were being tailed. Slowly, Tony began the long journey back to DC from Norfolk.

"Hey Abbs, it's Kate," Kate called Abby, who was at the lab following Gibbs orders. "We're fine. Could you set up your futon for the two Parker children? They're sleeping in the back and I don't know when we will be able to get them into a house… Thanks Abbs." Kate hung up the cell phone and carefully placed it back inside her bag.

"So much for our date," Tony remarked, looking over at Kate. For a brief moment, their eyes met. Tony slowly placed his hand next to Kate's, and she gratefully accepted it into hers.

"I can't imagine what the parents must be going through," Kate whispered slowly, looking over her shoulder at the two sleeping children. "Imagine the fear of never seeing your children again." Tony's face slightly tensed. He and Kate had only recently begun seeing one another and they were trying their best to keep it hidden from their workmates.

"It would be hard," was all Tony could reply. Kate gave a small laugh in disbelief.

"Is that all you can say? Their life is in danger and they may never see their kids again, and all you can say is that it must be hard." Kate said, looking directly at him.

"I'm sure that they'll be fine," Tony answered, now paying especially careful attention to the road in front of him. Mentally, he cursed himself. The truth was that he couldn't imagine himself ever having children, and he couldn't even begin to imagine being in the situation the Parkers were in.

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Eventually, Kate and Tony arrived back at NCIS. They took the kids straight to Abby's lab, where they knew that she would be waiting for them. Kate placed Emily on one side of the futon, and Tony placed Tom on the other. Kate covered them both with a blanket and stood up next to Tony. They looked down at the kids. They were cute when they were sleeping, almost angel-like. An outsider would have thought that the two sleeping children had belonged to Kate and Tony, due to the protective way that they were standing over the futon.

"You stay here with the kids, I'll go up and speak with the Director," Kate said to Tony.

"Why do I have to stay here and watch them?"

"What? Scared that they're going to attack you, Tony?" Kate joked. Tony's eyes dropped in embarrassment at her taunting remark. "They're sleeping, DiNozzo! Abs, look after him! Make sure that those two kids don't attack him while I'm gone!" Kate winked at Abby and strode out of the lab, in search of the director.

"Hey Tony, don't worry. I am sure that Gibbs will make sure that you are protected from the kids," Abby laughed, as Tony stepped out into the main area of the lab. Abby was at her desk, a Caf-Pow in front of her, and she was just about to start listening to the taped message.

"Ha, ha, very funny Abbs," Tony shot a smile at Abby. Abby looked over at Tony for a moment. He looked concerned, a first for Tony. "Afraid that your date won't stay up for you?" Abby asked,

"Hmm…what?" Tony asked, not having heard the question that Abby had just asked. Abby stood back for a moment, shocked. Rarely had she seen Tony like this. Just as she was about to say something, Gibbs strode into the room, commanding all attention.

"Abbs, what do you have for me?

"Well, Boss-man, since I was only given the tape, there isn't much that I can tell you." Gibbs raised his eyebrows. Her answer was not what he had wanted to hear. "Give me twenty, and I'll isolate some background noises."

"I know what was in the background, Abs." Gibbs said angrily.  
"How?" She asked. Tony and Kate hadn't said anything like that. In fact, they hadn't said much about it at all.

"He made the call from out the front of their house." Abby's eyes widened. "Listen to the tape, Abs."

Abby pressed play, and the sound of the kidnapper's voice boomed through the speakers. Abby was then able to edit the sound quality, to concentrate on the actual voice of the kidnapper.

"What can I say, Gibbs? There isn't much to work on. His voice appears to be unaltered, so I can't isolate it, and it definitely sounds male," Abby began, while clicking away at her mouse. "My guess is that he used a really cheap phone from Radio Shack or somewhere. The quality is impossible to work with."

"Impossible?" Gibbs raised his eyebrows at Abby. Abby looked directly at Gibbs

"Well, not impossible. It's just going to take time, Boss-man," she replied.

"Time is something that we don't have. I need information now. DiNozzo, bullpen!" Gibbs ordered, as he went to check up on the children, before walking out of the lab.

Gibbs and Tony were met in the bullpen by Kate, McGee and Director Morrow. "Agent Todd has briefed me on the situation." Gibbs nodded, and the Director continued. "A safe house is being set up as we speak. I need to know what was said on the answering machine. Agent Todd seemed not to have been informed of that detail." Gibbs shot a look at Tony, and then fixed his eyes on Kate.

"He greeted NCIS before stating, 'That's a very pretty agent that you have sitting in the car.'" Gibbs noticed Kate's eyes widened in shock.

Since they were in a hurry to get the kids to safety, no-one had told Kate what had been said. He turned his gaze back to the director and said, "This isn't just about protecting the kids anymore."

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That's all we have for chapter 2. Please review and tell us your thoughts. We'd love to hear from you! 


	3. Chapter 3

**Commitment**

Thank you to every one who has reviewed. Both Mel and I are so happy that everyone is enjoying it so far!

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**Chapter 3**

Kate felt a chill creep down her spine. Instinctively, Tony moved closer to her because he could sense that something was wrong. No matter how many times Kate had stepped next to the President ready to take a bullet, she still felt a little uneasy at the thought of being in danger. The feeling, hoping it meant she was more alert, had relieved her. Determined not to let her own fears interfere with what she knows is her job and what she is meant to do, she concentrated on the case in front of her.

"How many will be on the protection detail of the Emily and Tom?" Kate asked.

"Three agents at any give time," Director Morrow replied, before looking over at Gibbs. "Special Agent Todd will set up the protection detail. She will brief you all and I expect to be kept informed of how the detail is progressing," he finished before making his way to his office.

"Kate and Tony you will lead the detail, and I expect at least one of you to be with the children at any given time. If you are not with the children you are here working on this case. I don't care when you last slept." Gibbs ordered. His eyes often concentrating on Kate; he couldn't help but notice Tony was constantly by her side.

"What about when Emily and Tom go to school on Monday?" Kate asked. Gibbs looked towards Kate.

"Hopefully we'll have the case solved by then, but I'll place extra protection at the school. From now on Tom will be known as Striker and Emily as Yogi."

"Yogi?" Tony asked. "Boss, you gotta give her a name slightly more feminine." Gibbs rolled his eyes. "What about Xena?"

"Right," Kate said, taking charge of organizing the protection detail, "we need cameras in all areas of the house, infra-red scope as well on the outside, all feeds to be directed through to MTAC." Gibbs smiled. Her Secret Service training had kicked in, and he immediately knew that the kids were in the safe hands.

"McGee, get the gear together. We have to set this house up before they get there. Let's move," Gibbs said as he checked his weapon on his hip and made his way out of the bullpen.

Kate and Tony stood helplessly in the middle of the bullpen and watched as McGee grabbed his gear and ran out after Gibbs.

"What's going on, Tony?" Kate asked quietly once they were alone in the bullpen.

Tony turned his attention to Kate, the expression on his face portraying confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well ever since we got out of the car you have been acting all funny. You keep looking at me, and I don't know, except something is wrong." Kate was angry with Tony. She knew that having a relationship at work will test any relationship, but Tony's behaviour was bizarre. "One moment you seem all concerned and the next you're all distant."

"Kate, it's late, I am trying to concentrate on my job," Tony answered before sitting down at his desk, desperately trying to end the conversation. Kate sighed and slowly got up and walked up the stairs towards M-TAC. She looked down at Tony briefly before moving up the stairs.

Tony sat back in his chair and began doing a full work-up on the Parkers. He started by pulling both of their service records. They made an impressive pair, he thought, as he briefly read through them. They had received numerous commendations for outstanding service to the navy. It was quite a list.

He put a file together and made several copies of it, one each for Kate, Gibbs and McGee.

Tony also pulled their bank records and phone records, but even by just a quick glance, could tell that there was nothing out of the ordinary. All their calls were indicative of local numbers. He would call his friend at the phone company tomorrow to get a full list of their incoming calls.

Once they'd printed out, he sat back in his chair and relaxed. He didn't know where Kate had gone, but he was worried. It hadn't been a fight, as such, but it had been about their relationship, which he was sure was going to be tested over the weekend.

This relationship was the most important he has ever been involved in, and he didn't want to ruin it. He began to close his eyes and he pictured Kate that morning, smiling at him.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled into his ear, waking him from his thoughts. DiNozzo jumped.

"Boss!" He exclaimed as he sprang out of his seat.

"Where's Kate?" Gibbs asked. Tony looked over his boss' shoulder and noticed that she wasn't in the bullpen.

"Ah, um, I have no idea, boss. Maybe down in the lab with the kids?"

"Let's move, DiNozzo. The house has been all set up. It's three in the morning. You guys can head there now." Gibbs moved quickly out of the bullpen with Tony following quickly behind.

They entered the lab and noticed Abby typing away at her computer.

"Abs!" Gibbs barked. "You seen Kate?" Abby spun around on her chair to face Gibbs and Tony.

"Shh!" she exclaimed. "Kate's with the kids. Asleep, I might add!" Without replying, Gibbs moved further into the lab where the futon was located and indeed, Kate was asleep with the kids. She had placed herself between Emily and Tom and both kids had curled into her. Abby had placed another blanket on top of them. Tony's lips formed an involuntary smile at the sight of Kate sleeping. She looked so peaceful.

He unconsciously bent down to move a stray hair from her eyes, before realizing where he was. He then made an attempt to pick up a sleeping Emily. The young girl stirred in his arms before unconsciously wrapping her body around his and placing her head on his shoulder.

Gibbs cautiously attempted to wake Tom, who was startled. A confused look flashed across his face before he registered where he was and recognized Gibbs. Kate had been awoken by the movement around her. As she rose from the futon Abby shot her a confused look, which Kate didn't understand.

Quietly, they settled in the car and drove to the NCIS protected house, only a short distance from headquarters. Kate wanted to clarify things with Tony but didn't know where to begin. She hardly remembered what had been said. As they approached the house, both agents did a quick surveillance of the area before exiting with the kids.

After putting Emily and Tom into a bed they mindlessly wandered the halls of the house. Tony soon decided to give into his exhaustion and sat down on the couch, temporarily closing his eyes.

Kate walked into the living room and saw Tony sitting on the couch resting. He didn't hear her enter, so it was obvious he was asleep. They had hardly spoken a word to each other since that moment in the bullpen and she was confused. What did it all mean for them? They'd only just started seeing each other, too. After Kate danced with Ernie Yost in the bullpen, Tony took her out for dinner and they'd slept together that same night. Although they hadn't admitted any deep feelings to each other, they were enjoying their time together.

Kate hoped this case wouldn't end it.

Kate walked towards the children's room. She wanted to check on them again, for the umpteenth time. As she was about to enter the room she noticed a window in the room next door was open. A slow chill moved up her spine.

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So, that's it for chapter 3. Please review! We'd love to hear what you thought of it! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Commitment**

Thanks for all the reviews. A few more wouldn't go unnoticed! Mel and I love getting reviews because it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside because we know there are people out there who are enjoying our fic.

Thanks to Annie for her wonderful editing.

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**Chapter 4**

Kate slowly and cautiously removed her sig from her belt holster before quietly speaking into her microphone.

"Magnum, this is Rosefern, a possible threat in bedroom two." They all had been designated code names for the case. Kate went by her former Secret Service name of 'Rosefern' and Tony went by 'Magnum', of course.

Within moments, Tony was standing behind her ready and armed. Slowly, they coordinated their movements. They turned on the light in the room and secured it easily, finding no signs of forced entry. Tony checked behind the door while Kate checked under the bed.

"Now if only I could get you on top of a bed instead of under one…" Tony grinned at Kate, before checking the wardrobe. Kate just glared at Tony. Suddenly, they heard a running movement down the corridor.

"Palm-Pilot, this is Rosefern, we have a possible suspect in the main section of the house," Kate whispered into her microphone. Palm-Pilot was the name given to McGee who was watching everything from MTAC. Both Tony and Kate moved swiftly into the hall.

"Rosefern, this is Palm-Pilot, I have located your suspect. They are heading towards the front door. It appears to be a young male. Confirmation. It is Striker," McGee replied keeping video surveillance on the house. The agents quickly followed Tom out onto the front porch. Tony grabbed him by his waist and lifted him up.

Suddenly, Emily appeared outside and shouted, "Don't hurt my brother." Kate, seeing her distress, also picked her up and attempted to sooth her.

"No one is trying to hurt your brother, honey. We are trying to protect you." The agents quickly brought the children inside. Tony sat Tom down on the lounge room couch while Kate sat down next to him with Emily.

"Palm Pilot, this is Magnum, we have secured the location of Striker and Xena," Tony reported back to McGee.

"Magnum, this is Palm Pilot, we have a visual. Confirmation it is Striker and Xena."

"Tom, what were you thinking?" Tony sighed looking down at the despondent child. "Do you know how much danger you put yourself in?" Tony voice rose slightly.

"Tony!" Kate said her voice filled with anger. "He is scared! Don't talk to him like that." Tony sat back in resignation and let Kate talk to the kids. She always seemed to know the right things to say. "Tom, sweetie," she said softly, trying to gain his attention and trust, "you can't go running out like that, ok? It's not safe." Kate's voice was soft and had a calming effect on both children. "You have to stay with Tony and I because we have to protect you." Emily nodded, but Tom shook his head violently.

"No!" he exclaimed. "We don't need to be protected. We just need mummy and daddy." He stood up from the couch and ran out of the room. Tony held back, but jogged after him to make sure he didn't leave the house.

"I want things to go back to how they used to, before dad went away," Emily whispered. Emily soon began to whimper again. Kate tried her best to sooth her but to no avail. The child had clearly been shocked by the evening events.

A short time later, Tony returned and sat across from Kate. Kate stared at Tony. Tony began to slightly move his body.

"What?" Tony attempted to whisper but instead spoke in a low voice.

"You could have been nicer to him you know?" Kate whispered back, slightly leaning forward.

"Kate we are protecting these kids, there is no time to be sympathetic, anything happens and Gibbs will fire our asses," Tony replied back before sinking back into his chair and briefly closing his eyes.

"Tony do you ever think about anyone but yourself?" Kate said before getting up to place Emily back on the bed.

"I can't stop thinking about you," Tony whispered but it was too late. Kate had left the room.

Kate placed Emily down in her bed and tucked her in tightly. She turned around and moved towards the bed on the other side of the room where Tom was laying. She knelt down next to him and ran her hand softly over his hair. "We're going to find your mum and dad, ok? I promise. Try and get some sleep." Tom nodded.

"I'm sorry I ran out," he whispered to Kate. "I just wanted to go and find mum and dad."

"I know," Kate replied. She didn't know what else she could say. It was late; well, early actually. It was five o'clock in the morning. Not only did she need sleep, she wanted it as well. She pulled the covers up tightly around Tom and walked out of the room, closing the door lightly behind her.

Kate walked slowly down the hall. Light was beginning to creep through the windows and under the blinds. Just before she reached the lounge room she paused. She thought about the case and then of Tony. Slowly she leant against the wall. Why was her love life always so complicated?

After the disaster at the secret service she vowed never to get involved with another workmate. Then she met Tony. This was ridiculous, she kept telling herself. They had only being seeing each other for a matter of days and already she was in turmoil. She didn't want to lose another job but she didn't want to lose Tony either.

Back in MTAC, McGee had taken a few personal moments to visit the bathroom and Gibbs had taken over surveillance. Abby had walked in wanting to help out in anyway she could. She could sense the stress Gibbs was putting on himself. On the screen, she saw Kate in the corridor head in her hands. She desperately wanted to embrace her.

"Good morning to you my silver-haired fox," Abby, said as cheerful as possible.

"Abbs" was all Gibbs responded with. Gibbs began pacing the room.

"Boss-man! You have to take it easy," Abby said, a concerned look on her face.

"Abbs, the parents of two young children have been missing for over twelve hours now, the window of us finding them alive is getting smaller, I don't know what to do," Gibbs said, letting down his guard for just a few brief moments. Slowly, Abby placed a hand on Gibbs shoulder.

"Sempre Fi, Gibbs, Sempre Fi, you gotta have faith boss-man," Abby said before leaving MTAC to return to her lab in an attempt to try and find a lead on the case.

Meanwhile, back in the lounge room, Tony had settled himself into the couch. Since that attempted breakaway by Tom and Emily and subsequently his small outburst at Tom, Tony felt uneasy. Kate had snapped at him and he was at a loss as to what to do. If they were already fighting like this what hope did their relationship have?

It reminded him of his own childhood, his parents were always fighting, well at least the time when his father actually found his way home. He remembered his first track meet when he was still in elementary school and how excited he had been. He had beaten all the other kids in his school but both of his parents were too busy to attend.

Time seemed to pass slowly. Kate had drifted into asleep in the hallway, her body lying in an awkward position. Tony was awoken by the sound of car passing. Slowly, he allowed himself to become accustomed to the surroundings. He sat up for a moment, thinking about the case. He felt this strong feeling deep in his stomach and he knew that something wasn't right.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs barked into his earpiece. Tony jumped up expecting to see Gibbs standing in front of him.

"Yeah boss?"

"It is 8am. Get those children out of bed and ready. I want you all here at headquarters." Tony smoothed his clothes out and looked around the empty lounge room. Kate was no where to be found. He stepped at into the hallway and his heart stopped beating. Kate, his Kate, was slumped against the wall, asleep. If her position was as uncomfortable as it looked, then it was going to be long day. He walked over to her slowly and knelt down next to her.

"Kate!" Tony said softly as he placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. "Kate! Honey, we gotta get up and get the kids ready." Kate began to stir and Tony momentarily froze, the realization of his words hit hard. Seeing Kate still asleep slightly relived Tony. Slowly, he bent down to whisper to Kate again, "Kate…" He was interrupted by an elbow in the chest, and within a matter of moments, Tony was lying on his back Kate's body pinned on top of his.

"Tony!" Kate said, her breathing beginning to slow.

"Well, if I knew you wanted me this much, I would have found you sooner." Tony grinned up at Kate; Kate continued to look down at Tony. He face began to lean into to Tony's. Suddenly, she retracted, remembering where they were, and what she was meant to be doing.

"How are the kids?" Kate asked holding out her hand for Tony to take a hold of.

"Still asleep, you go wash your face and I'll make a quick breakfast, Gibbs wants us." With that, Tony slowly made his way to the kitchen, while Kate opened the door to the children's bedroom to wake them up.

That morning, the kids were surprisingly co-operative. Tom and Emily, resigned to the fact that they would have to be with Kate and Tony around-the-clock, got themselves dressed and ate breakfast without complaint. Kate and Tony danced around each other, only talking to the other if it was necessary. Just after nine o'clock, they clambered into the NCIS-issue sedan and drove towards headquarters. Both Kate and Tony were so wrapped up in their own thoughts that they failed to notice the small, dark sedan that was following them at a close distance.

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So, that's it for chapter four. We hope that you are still enjoying it. Please review. We like knowing that people appreciate what we do. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Commitment**

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review out fic, but a few more would be greatly appreciated! We're sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up, between the two of us have really struggled to get this fic off the ground. We'd really love it if you could all review at the end of the chapter with any ideas if you have some!

**

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Part 5**

As they entered the NCIS HQ, Kate breathed a small sigh of relief. She desperately wanted to go talk to Abby; she needed some space from Tony. Slowly the two children exited the car. They felt uneasy about the workplace. Emily was paying special attention to any navy uniform in case it happened to be one of her parents. As they entered the bullpen, Tony pulled out McGee's chair for Emily to sit on before sitting at his own desk to ring and report in to Gibbs.

"I'm bored," Tom said sullenly. Tony looked at the child with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.

"We only just got here," Kate said.

"I'm bored," Tom said a little louder.

"Do you like computers?" Tony asked, "Abby might let you use hers," Tony suggested.

"Does she have the latest GT game? Dad brought back just for me!" Tom said, his expression picking up

"Oh, I just brought that for my PS2," Tony said, "Isn't it awesome?" Kate looked at Tony in disbelief and attempted to suppress a laugh. Tony raised an eyebrow to Kate.

"Trust you Tony, while most people your age actually have responsibilities, you are at home playing video games," Kate said.

"That's not all I do!" Tony laughed suggestively and winked at Kate. The dialogue went unnoticed by the kids.

"Dad won't let me get a PS2, I have to play on the stupid computer," Tom said looking down again.

"Come on, I'll take you to Abby," Kate said leading the way. Just as Kate left, Gibbs walked down the stairs.

"Good Afternoon DiNozzo," Gibbs said with a hint of sarcasm dripping from his words. Tony smiled back.

"Boss did we find a computer at the Parkers House?"

"No."

"Are you sure? I mean, I know you're not a tech-head like McGeek, but-"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked, cutting him off, effectively stopping Tony from saying something he might regret. "There was no computer."

Tony wrinkled his eyebrows up in confusion. "Tom said they have a computer and that Captain Parker lets them play it."

"Take Kate to the house and check it out. Find the computer."

"Yes, Boss," Tony said as he stood up. He put on his jacket and went down to the lab to find Kate.

Tony was surprised to say the least, when he entered the lab. Tom was sitting at Abby's computer playing a computer game with Emily shrieking behind him: "Be careful! Ah! Watch out Tommy!" Abby had obviously found some computer game for him to play. Kate was sitting on one of the lab tech's stool looking worn out. Abby was standing in front of her with a Caf-Pow in hand.

"Tony! Or should I say Magnum," Abby greeted Tony. Tony just grinned.

"Morning Abbs," Tony said looking over at Kate who smiled weakly at Tony.

"Do you think you will be growing a moustache like Tom Selleck? What about the car?" Abby teased Tony.

"Tony, you'd like that wouldn't you, a new girl every week falling at your feet," Kate said, her lips turning into a grin.

"Well not every week Kate," Tony laughed. Abby looked at her friends, sensing something was going on. She was plotting a way to get Kate alone so she could talk to her.

"Kate, Gibbs has ordered us to return to the Parkers house to search for the computer." Kate looked at Tony and was about to speak when she was interrupted by Emily.

"I want to go home," Emily cried jumping up and down.

"No, Emily, you can't," Kate replied firmly.

"Why not?"

"It's not safe," Tony answered trying to protect Kate from hurting the child. "Emily, where did your mum and dad keep the computer?" Tony asked. Emily looked up at Tony with a confused look on her face.

"Mum kept it in the safe in the study. She used to use it for work as well." Tony and Kate just looked at each other with raised eyebrows. This possibly presented a different angle to the case.

"I'll get my bag," Kate said as she was leaving the lab.

"I'll report to Gibbs," Tony said walking beside her.

"Meet you at the car in five minutes," they both said simultaneously before parting. Abby looked at Tony and Kate and shook her head before whispering, "what's up with them?"

"They were holding hands in the car last night." Emily piped up from her position behind Tom. Once Kate told her that she wouldn't be going home, she resigned herself to watching her brother play computer games on a super-fast computer.

Abby spun around on her heel and looked at Emily with a wicked grin on her face. "Really?" she asked. Her mind was working overtime. Kate and Tony. Together. Wow!

"Yep," Emily stated simply before turning her attention back to the computer. "Watch out, Tom! Quick!"

Abby smiled mischievously at herself before walking over to her various machines to see if there was any trace evidence in the stuff that McGee had bagged and tagged for her from the Parker's house.

Kate and Tony met up at the sedan in the parking lot and climbed in.

"So, we're looking for a computer, right?" Kate asked as Tony began navigating the streets.

"Only problem is, we'll have to find a way to open the safe."

"Depending on what type of safe it is, I might be able to open it," Kate said. Tony raised his eyebrows at Kate.

"How?" He asked incredulously.

"Tony, I'm an ex- Secret Service Agent!"

"So explain to me Katie, how taking bullets for the president mean you can open a safe?" Tony teased Kate. Kate leaned back and smiled. She loved these small moments between Tony and herself where they were both just themselves. No act. They were just comfortable and happy to be in each other's presence.

"There are lot of things I can do that you don't know about sex machine," Kate teased Tony back.

"Haa, is that a challenge Kate?" Tony asked. There was a silence. Kate was concentrating on the black sedan behind them. It had been following them since they had left south D.C. Tony's face-hardened, and he lowered the cars speed slightly. "What is it Kate?"

"Has that car been following us since HQ?" Kate asked. Tony looked at his rear view mirror for just a moment.

"Yeah, but is it that strange for a car to be going from DC to Norfolk?" Tony asked, his voice lacking the confidence of his intention.

"My gut says he is trailing us," Kate whispered, before getting out her cell-phone to call Gibbs.

"I'll slow down and force him to overtake us so we can get his license plate number," Tony said, his eyes paying attention to the car.

Tony switched lanes on the freeway into the 'slow lane' and slowed down. Tony and Kate, both well-trained in surveillance, flicked their eyes between the mirror and the road ahead. "We're being followed," Kate said, as soon as she saw the dark sedan follow them into the slow lane.

"Can you get the plates?" Tony said, concentrating on the road ahead.

"Pull back a little bit more, Tony," Kate said as she kept her eyes focused in the mirror. Tony took his foot off the gas and the car slowed down again.

"Call Gibbs," he instructed. Kate dialed Gibbs and he picked up after one ring.

"Gibbs, it's Kate. We're being followed." Gibbs was silent for a moment. Kate heard a loud noise and concluded Gibbs fist had collided with the desk.

"What's the make of the car?" Gibbs asked.

"It's a small black ford sedan, according to Tony it is a '93 model. The number plate begins with 'T." Kate's breathing quickened.

"I want you to turn off at the next exit, deliberately go in the wrong direction until I get there," Gibbs ordered. Before Kate could protest Gibbs had ended the connection. Tony looked back at the car as they exited the freeway. From the corner of his eye, he could see a movement in the back seat of the vehicle.

Kate seeing Tony's expression asked, "What is it Tony?"

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Right… that's all we've got for now. We'd love it if you could review and perhaps give us some ideas of where we could take it. At the moment, we're a bit flat and need something to inspire us! 


	6. Chapter 6

**Commitment**

Sorry it's been so long… we've been stuck for inspiration, but we somehow found some and wrote this chapter for you!

Enjoy!

**

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Chapter 6**

Gibbs put his foot on the gas and sped out of the naval yard in hot pursuit of Kate, Tony and this mysterious vehicle. Tony took the next exit on the freeway, heading west onto the '81. He hoped they didn't get lost; they just needed to time it perfectly so they would be back on the freeway at the same time as Gibbs reached them.

"Kate, honey, relax." Tony said, feeling her contract against his touch. Kate placed her hand quickly on Tony's thigh and squeezed it, before turning the radio off.

"Are you worried in the slightest?" Kate asked, biting her upper lip. Tony quickly turned towards her and smiled before concentrating on the road ahead.

"Me worried? Nah, Gibbs is on his way."

"Don't you remember Rule Number… what number is it? Never trust anyone?" Kate said laughing.

"Well if we followed every single one of Gibbs rules like Holy Scripture I wouldn't be in love with you…" Tony stopped suddenly realizing what he had just said.

"What?" Kate said slowly, looking towards Tony her eyes softening.

"Nothing," Tony said.

"You said you loved me…" Kate smiled.

"Yeah, I know, but we need to concentrate on the bastard behind us."

Kate sat stunned in her seat. Tony had just admitted he loved her. She hadn't seen that one coming, especially not so soon. She bit on her bottom lip and stared out the window, momentarily breaking her concentration on the car behind them. Tony sensed her discomfort and sighed. It was his fault. He shouldn't have voiced his emotions so soon, especially since they were at work. He concentrated on navigating the unfamiliar streets whilst trying to maintain a safe distance between them.

They both breathed a sigh of relief when Kate's cell phone rang nearly twenty minutes later, shattering the unnerving silence in the car. "Todd."

"Get back on the freeway. I'm about fifteen minutes from the '81 exit." Within moments, and with Kate's help, Tony had managed to find the way back to the correct highway, which would lead to Norfolk. Kate was keeping a constant eye on the rear watching the cars. Within a few minutes she saw the dark blue sedan with Gibbs behind the wheel. Next to him was a pale looking McGee. Kate couldn't help but laugh. She saw the sedan slow down and position itself behind their assailant's car.

"Todd," Kate replied promptly.

"Continue back to the Parkers house. Extra backup is waiting." Kate paused for a moment in silence.

"Boss?" Kate said

"Yeah?" Gibbs replied

"We believe the Parkers may be in the vehicle." Kate didn't even hear Gibbs' response to that. He had hung up on her. 'Typical', she thought.

Without taking his eyes off the road, Gibbs dialed Abby's lab and waited impatiently for her to answer.

"You're on the air!" Abby said into the phone in her usual cheery manner.

"Abbs," Gibbs said gruffly.

"Ooh, boss-man! What can I do for you?"

"Are you with the kids?"

"Of course. They're playing computer games. I gotta tell ya, Tom is pretty good. He'd give McGee a run-"

"Abbs!" Gibbs barked, cutting her off. Now was not the time for any Ducky-like stories.

"Ooh, someone's grouchy! You need coffee, Gibbs."

"Abby! Do you have anything at all from the house?" There was a moment's pause before Abby responded.

"Nope. Not a thing. Whoever it was, Gibbs, knew what they were doing. They didn't leave one bit of trace evidence behind."

"Every contact leaves it's trace. Find it!" Gibbs barked.

"Gibbs, I am telling you I have processed everything you brought me twice and I can't find anything." Abby pleased her case to Gibbs. Silence followed.

"I need you to work with McGee and trace these plates TKL 564."

"Yes Boss," Abby answered. Gibbs looked at the car ahead. His eyes focused on the driver trying to get into his head. He saw something move in the backseat there was definitely a person behind him. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a car swerved in front of the sedan Gibbs and McGee were driving. Gibbs struggled to maintain control of the car as it span across the highway.

McGee closed his eyes and was paralysed with fear, believing that his life was just about over. A thousand thoughts flooded his mind as the car spun in circles. Time seemed to slow as the car flew out of control. The sedan skidded to a halt facing on-coming cars on the other side of the highway. McGee opened his eyes slowly when the car stopped and exhaled slowly.

Gibbs, however, had his hands planted on the wheel and had anger in his eyes. Cars were coming at them, horns beeping.

Gibbs put his foot back on the gas and the car flew into life. He turned the wheel sharply and soon enough, they were back on the right side of the highway on the way to Norfolk, but none of the cars were in sight.

"You get a look at the plates?" Gibbs asked McGee.

"Ah, um, ah, b-boss, I, ah-" McGee stammered, trying to regain his composure.

"Spit it out McGee!" he barked.

"Ah, no, b-boss, I, ah, didn't." McGee was saved from Gibbs' wrath by the ringing of his cell phone. McGee fumbled, but pulled his cell out his pocket to get a good look at the caller. It was Kate.

"Gibbs! McGee! Are you okay?" A frantic Kate practically yelled into the phone. This was followed by the sound of cars skidding. Gibbs looked and saw Tony's sedan heading towards him. His hand hit the steering wheel in frustration.

"Yeah we're fine." Gibbs slowly got up from the car. His eyes filled with anger. Kate and Tony quickly jumped out of the car and came running towards them.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Gibbs yelled. "Why didn't you follow the bastard?" Gibbs was furious.

"Gibbs," Tony began to reply, "You weren't the only ones ran off the road. This was a planned attack. By the time we gained control there was no sign of the drivers except their tyre marks." Tony said his breath staggered. Gibbs looked at the two agents in front of him. Kate was looking at Tony, and Tony quickly glanced at her, his eyes meeting hers for a fleeting moment.

"Seal of the highway. This is a crime scene. I want the marks processed as well as any paint marks. DiNozzo contact HQ sends out a truck as well as replacement vehicles. I need you to get to the Parkers House as soon as humanly possible."

Tony pulled out his cell phone to organize closing the highway. It wasn't going to be easy; it was a major road, but they didn't have a choice. Kate jumped into the sedan and parked it across the lane, approximately 100meters before the first set of skid marks. McGee did the same, but 100meters after the last set of tyre tracks. They jogged back to where Gibbs and Tony were standing. Tony snapped his cell shut and spoke to them all.

"Right, freeway is being closed off on both sides. They're not happy, but they don't have a choice. They're also pulling all the surveillance tapes from the highway and they'll be ready to be picked up in about half an hour." By this time, they all had their NCIS jackets and caps on. Kate bent down to get a closer look at the tyre tracks.

"Hey Gibbs, have a look at this," she said as she pointed to the tracks.

"Tyre tracks, Kate." Kate rolled her eyes at his response.

"Yeah- look at them. They don't match. Whoever is driving this vehicle has two different tyres on it."

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It was well after midday by the time Kate and Tony began driving to Parkers. They began their journey in silence. Tony kept looking over to the clock. Soon he began tapping his fingers against the steering wheel.

"What is Tony?" an exasperated Kate asked.

"Well we had breakfast early and it's been one hell of a morning I am kind of hungry." Tony replied.

"We could have died, how can you possibly be hungry?" Kate said, omitting a laugh. She looked over at Tony and smiled. She loved how normal he made her feel.

"Must be the adrenaline rush, you know?" Tony said, looking over at her and winking. There was a pause. Kate wanted to speak to him but was too afraid. Tony could sense she was holding something back from him. "Kate what is it?" His eyes were full of concern and his voice soothing.

"Weren't you just a little bit scared," Kate whispered.

"Scared of what?" Tony asked in a voice masked with bravado.

"Of what happened. When we lost control. I mean what if something serious happened or you couldn't get control of the car again." Tony looked over at Kate. He saw her eyes swell with tears. Knowing they were just moments from the Parkers, he slowly pulled to the side. He undid his seat belt and pulled Kate's hands into his own. His eyes searched for hers and once he found them he began to speak.

"Kate, whenever you're with me, I don't want you to ever be worried or scared. I would never, and I mean never let anything happen to you. I love you, okay? I don't care whether we are ready or not, I love you." Slowly he bent his head towards her and their lips met. It was a slow and gentle kiss, full of an emotion they couldn't express. Slowly they moved away from each other.

"We need to get to the Parkers' House before we become Gibbs' dinner." Tony said, turning the ignition.

Kate looked out the window and whispered "I Love You." Tony didn't hear her; he was too busy concentrating on the Parkers House.

The front door was open and there was no sign of the two guards ordered by Gibbs to mind it.

"Kate…" Tony began, but he didn't need to finish it, Kate was already altered to the situation.

"Do you want me to go around the back?" Kate asked. Tony lifted his gun out of the holster.

"No, we need to protect each other. Ready." Together the moved across the lawn and swiftly entered the house, their sigs aiming for any possible target.

"Shit!" Tony muttered. The house had been completely turned over. Not one piece of furniture was in its place, photo frames were smashed and papers littered the room.

Kate's stomach was churning. What first seemed like a simple kidnapping nearly twenty-four hours ago had now turned into a complicated web of mystery. Not only were they chasing the kidnappers, but the kidnappers were now chasing them.

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Hope you liked it! Please review! We need all the inspiration we can get! 


	7. Chapter 7

**Commitment**

Thanks for all the reviews! We really appreciate it! Mel and I found a little bit of inspiration this week and managed to write another chapter! Enjoy!

**

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Chapter 7**

"Gibbs," Gibbs said simply.

"Gibbs, it's DiNozzo, Kate and I arrived at the Parkers house. It's been ransacked, and the two guards are missing. There seems to be no sign of a physical struggle and no bloodstains. We have bagged and tagged any possible evidence. Kate is currently speaking to neighbours to see if they heard anything." There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Keep on your guard," Gibbs replied. Tony walked over to Kate.

"The neighbours were not in a very talkative mood. Quite the opposite actually," Kate said. Tony sighed. "We might as well begin a search for the computer or laptop." Tony simply nodded, and they walked into the house together before making their way to the study. They quietly stepped inside.

Kate instinctively went to the far wall, where a picture was situated. Slowly, and with Tony's help, they removed the picture and lo and behold there was a small black combination safe. Both stepped forward and their hands met.

"I'll open it," Tony offered. Kate simply laughed.

"It's okay, I'll do it. I was trained for when I joined the secret service." Tony simply smiled.

"Kate, Kate, Kate, You forget I spent a lot of time on the Baltimore PD, regularly attending drugs busts, I am more than qualified to open the safe."

"Tony, I'm an ex-Secret Service agent. I'll open the safe."

"And I'm the senior field agent; I can open the safe!" Tony said turning to face her. They took their hands off the safe and placed them on their hips, mirroring each other's stubborn stance.

"I don't care which one of you opens the safe, as long as it gets opened," Gibbs' voice boomed from the doorway. Kate and Tony's eyes grew as wide as saucers. They didn't even hear Gibbs enter the house. Tony turned around to face his boss, who was leaning up against the door frame. "I did not hire children."

Both Kate and Tony went red in embarrassment. "Yes, Boss," Tony said meekly.

"Sorry, Gibbs," Kate said.

He nodded in acceptance. "Open it!" He ordered.

Tony stepped back and allowed Kate to open the safe. After a few minutes the safe was finally opened. All three agents looked at it's contents. Instead of finding the lap top, they discovered a small pile of bills.

"Looks like President Franklin was one comfortable guest in the house," Tony said.

"About 200,000 of them," Gibbs remarked.

"That's interesting," Kate mused.

"What is?" Tony said, turning to face Kate.

"Well obviously this isn't just a random kidnapping for money. It appears to be deeply personally motivated. We need to find why they have all this money and that should lead us to their kidnapper."

"Why wouldn't they just try and pay him off?" Tony asked.

"I want both of you to bag and tag this evidence before searching the rest of the house for the laptop. It could be hidden elsewhere, or else they would have taken the money as well." Gibbs ordered. "After that I expect you back at HQ without delay."

"Yes Boss," Tony and Kate answered in sync.

Without another word, Gibbs left the house, leaving Kate and Tony to do as he asked. "He's not happy," Tony stated.

"You think?" Kate asked sarcastically.

"Hey, don't get angry with me," Tony said as he grabbed Kate lightly on the arm. Kate sighed and looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said, defeated. "I'm not angry at you. It's just this case. It doesn't make sense." Tony bit his lip. Kate looked drained. He did the only thing he thought would work; he drew her into an embrace. As he pulled her into his arms, her hands instinctively snaked up around his neck. She laid her head on his shoulder and took slow even breaths.

Their bodies melted into one. His head bent so it was touching hers. His hands on her back were comforting. She felt safe. Slowly she lifted her head and looked into her eyes.

"I need to tell you something, I need you to know…" Kate began.

"Sshh," Tony whispered. "I know." Kate looked deep into his eyes and for the first time she saw love and comfort. He wasn't the coworker she met just over a year ago who laughed everything off, and was attracted to anything that moved in a skirt. He was Tony. He was her Tony.

Suddenly she felt closer to him than she had ever felt to anyone in the world. Tony looked back into her eyes, felt a love he never dreamt was meant for him. He felt he didn't deserve Kate, but he loved her more than anyone. A cell phone ringing interrupted their moment.

"Is that your phone, or are you just happy to see me?" Kate laughed. Tony simply winked at Kate.

"DiNozzo."

"Tony! What's up?" Abby's voice beamed on the other end.

"Hiya Abbs, What can I do for you this afternoon?" Tony asked.

"Well big man, it's more like what can I do for you? Abby's raspy voice replied. "I think I may know where your missing laptop may be?"

"Where Abbs?" Tony asked. Kate looked at Tony and raised her eyebrows.

"Underneath the Parkers' mattress. Emily said she saw her mother putting something there early Friday morning before they were dropped of at school."

"Abbs you rock." Tony said.

"Oh I know," Abby said. You could almost hear her smirking.

"See you later Abbs," Tony laughed before looking towards Kate. "Abby thinks the laptop may be hidden in the mattress in the main bedroom." Before Tony had a chance to finish the sentence Kate was up and headed up the stairs.

Kate bounded up the stairs, taking two at a time. Tony was hot on her heels and they reached the main bedroom at the same time. Whoever had ransacked the house was obviously looking for something, because the bedroom was in a mess too. The mattress wasn't sitting straight on the bed- whoever had been there had obviously looked under it. The drawers had been opened and clothing was strewn about the room. Both doors to the wardrobe were open and the clothes were hanging messily from the hangers.

"Let's hope they haven't beaten us to it," Tony said as he moved past Kate to the bed. He lifted the mattress up and looked under it. "It's not there," he stated simply as he let go.

"Hmm…" Kate said. She placed her hands on her hips emphatically. "Unless…" she started, before trailing off.

"Unless what?" Tony asked. Kate moved over to Tony.

"Did Abby say underneath or in?" Tony wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. Kate stripped the blankets off the bed until the mattress was bare. She crouched down on her knees and inspected the sides of the mattress. She noticed a slit in the material and reached in.

"The laptop isn't underneath the mattress. It's in it."

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What did you all think? Please review! 


	8. Chapter 8

**Commitment**

Thanks for the reviews! Here's another chapter!

**

* * *

Chapter 8**

"Todd, DiNozzo, what have you got for me?" Abby said, attempting her best Gibbs impersonation.

"Don't give up your day job," Kate laughed as she walked into the lab with Tony behind her. "We have the Parkers laptop for you to work your magic on."

"Thanks," Abby said taking the laptop. First Abby dusted the laptop for prints, before turning the machine on.

The Parkers obviously had something stored on there they wanted to remain hidden, their security and password protection system would have been difficult for the average criminal but Abby passed through it without a problem.

"Where's McGee?" Kate asked looking around Abby's lab and noticing Tom, Emily and McGee were absent

A dishevelled and red face McGee answered Kate's question as he walked back into the lab with the two children.

"McGoo," Emily asked tugged on McGee's jacked, "I want more ice-cream." Abby, Tony and Kate all looked a McGee with a laughter clearly creeping all over their face.

"Hey Kids!" Kate exclaimed as they entered the lab. Emily ran over to her and wrapped her arms around Kate's waist. Kate was shocked at this, but she wrapped her arms around the small girl in front of her.

Tom, however, spied his parents laptop sitting on the bench in the lab. "You got the computer! Now I can play my own games!" he said as he began to make his way over to it.

"Hey squirt!" Tony exclaimed and grabbed him by the back of the jumper. "You can't play on it at the moment." Tom turned around to face him.

"Why not? It's my computer!" he said grumpily. Tony looked over at Kate for some support. McGee, who had since calmed down from his 'outing' with the kids, stood next to Abby, and looked at the contents of the Parker's hard drive. They were too engrossed in the computer to notice Kate and Tony dealing with the kids.

"Well, Tom, we have to check through it to see if there is anything on there that might help us find your parents," Kate said softly as she released Emily from her arms. She made her way over to where Tony was standing with Tom, and Emily followed, grabbing onto her hand. "Once Abby has finished with it, you might be able to use it, ok?" Tom nodded his head slowly.

"Can I still use Abby's computer?"

"Well I think Abby or McGee may need it," Kate said in a sympathetic tone. "Well seeing it's dinner time, what about we all get some dinner, and then maybe if you are good we can get some ice-cream," Kate said.

"Yes, I want ice-cream," Emily, squealed. "I'll be good, I promise." Tony smiled at Kate's natural ability to connect with kids.

"What do you say Tom? You hungry?" Tony said they walked out of the lab. Tom simply nodded. Kate looked back at Abby and McGee and saw McGee relax a little. She smiled.

Just as they were exiting the lab, Gibbs strode out of the elevator. "Where are you all going?"

"Gibbs, it's dinnertime. The kids need to eat," Kate said defiantly. He looked at her, then to Tony and then down at the two children by her side.

"What's on the menu for tonight?" Gibbs asked Tom, a small smile appearing on his face as he interacted with them.

"Don't know yet!" Tom exclaimed.

"Are you coming to dinner with us?" Emily piped up. It seemed that only adults were intimidated by Gibbs. The children weren't scared by his demeanour at all. Gibbs took a sip of his coffee.

"We're all coming to dinner," Gibbs remarked. Abby and McGee spun around and looked poignantly at Gibbs.

"Awesome!" Abby exclaimed. "Dinner on the Boss-man!"

About half an hour later they were all sitting around the table at the safe house with boxes of pizza's laid out in front of them. Kate had also invited Ducky and Palmer to join them.

"Do you know that the Margarita pizza was named after an Italian Queen," Ducky began.

"No, Dr Mallard, I didn't," Jimmy answered when he noticed the others were deliberately silent.

"Yes indeed," Ducky continued. "The contents of the pizza, the green basil, the white mozzarella cheese, and the red tomato sauce reflect the colours of Italian national pride, their flag."

"Fascinating Duck," Gibbs said sarcastically.

"Yes,Jethro, it is," Ducky said completely unaware of the sarcastic tone. Gibbs just leaned back on his chair with one hand on the back and one hand still on the table and chuckled.

"I've finished, can I go watch tv?" Tom asked Gibbs.

"Okay," Gibbs responded.

"Mr. Gibbs, can you please help me tie my shoe lace?" Emily asked, with one foot in the air. Gibbs smiled and carefully put her foot on his knee. He bent down and tied up her shoelace. "That's a pretty pink ribbon in your hair," Gibbs said. Emily just beamed,

"Pink's my favourite colour," Emily replied before running after her brother. All the eyes on the table were focused on Gibbs. He often surprised his team. Ducky had a melancholic look in his eyes. Gibbs looked at Ducky, and slightly shook his head.

"Where are we on the case?" Gibbs asked the rest of his team. His team shifted slightly all eyes diverting the real issue. The truth was they were all frustrated. "Well?" Gibbs replied irately.

"McGee and I are still working on their laptop," Abby replied. Gibbs started at McGee,

"Umm…well we have it here and we will continue…working on it…" McGee answered.

McGee and Abby got up from the kitchen and moved out to the living room where they had put the laptop when they came in. Ducky and Jimmy both excused themselves, stating that they had a body waiting for them in autopsy and left the house, leaving Kate, Tony and Gibbs still sitting around the table, empty pizza boxes in front of them.

"Can one of you talk to the kids? They have to know something about the kidnapping. Surely," Gibbs stated. He looked between Kate and Tony. They seemed to be sitting awfully close together, Gibbs noted, but chose not to comment on it. Kate looked at Tony then back at Gibbs.

"I'll talk to them," Kate said simply. She stood up from the table and picked up the empty pizza boxes and put them in the bin before she left the kitchen in search of Tom and Emily.

She found them sitting on the couch in the lounge room watching a movie on the television. She handed them the ice-cream that she promised them and sat down next to Emily. "I need to talk to you guys," she said softly. They both looked away from the screen and stared at Kate expectantly. Before she continued, she reached forward and turned the television off with the remote.

"Aw!" Tom exclaimed. "We were watching that!"

"I know. You can keep watching it in a minute. I just need to speak to you about your parents."

"You found them?" Emily asked, her eyes lighting up. Kate sighed.

"No, not yet, sweetie, but I was hoping you might know if there was anyone who used to come to the house a lot or call a lot." Emily looked at Tom who simply shrugged and turned his attention back to the television.

"Not really. Daddy was always away on the big ship," Emily answered. Tom pretended to be fascinated by the blank tv screen.

"Tom, do you remember anything?" Kate asked attempting to get the childs attention.

"Richard…" Tom spat out with venom.

"Richard?" Kate asked.

"Oh, he means uncle Richard, he is our uncle." Emily answered smiling. Kate moved slowly back into the kitchen. She laughed when she saw Gibbs and Tony cleaning up after dinner.

"Wow Tony, I'd never thought I'd see the day where you were actually useful!" Kate laughed before sitting back down at the table. Tony wanted to answer but he could sense Gibbs was scrutinizing every move they made like somehow he knew.

"Anything Kate?" Tony asked. Kate was about to answer when Abby came rushing in.

"Guys! We got something!" Abby said, jumping up and down. Tony and Gibbs turned around to face Abby. They were both holding dish cloths and Abby burst out laughing. "How domestic!" she stated. The smile on her face was as big as they'd ever seen it. Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"What have you got, Abs?" He said flatly. The Parker's had now been missing for over twenty-four hours and statistically, the longer they were missing, the less chance they had of being found alive.

"Lieutenant Parker has been receiving a lot of emails lately, but they're encrypted and I need to hook their computer up to my baby so that I can read them." Gibbs face was blank, but Kate and Tony nodded slowly. Abby continued on, explaining further so that Gibbs would understand. "All the emails have passwords on them. McGee and I have tried to crack it, but the computer doesn't have the software for it. Once I get it back to my lab, I can tell you who sent the emails." She didn't even give any of them the chance to respond. Abby turned on her heel and left the room. "Come on, McGee! Let's go!" She shouted as she walked away.

Several moments later, the front door could be heard closing behind them. Gibbs ran a hand over his face. "It's late. Get the kids into bed. The Parker's phone records are in a file in the living room. Go through them with a fine tooth comb."

"Sure thing, Boss," Tony stated.

"I'll be back in MTAC. Put your earpieces in." Kate and Tony nodded. They went to the drawer where they put them that morning before they left the house and put them in. "Be at headquarters at 0830 tomorrow morning."

"Boss, it's a Sunday!" Tony exclaimed. Gibbs glared at him, daring him to defy his orders. "Ah, right, boss. We'll be there at 0830."

"Not a minute later," Gibbs barked before leaving the house, leaving Kate and Tony alone in the kitchen.

"Right, let's get these kids to bed," Kate stated. They walked into the lounge room where the kids were still watching the movie.

"You finished your ice-cream?" Tony said

"Yep!" Emily said, a grin appearing across her face. Kate and Tony both chuckled. She had a little bit of chocolate ice-cream smeared across her face. She held her empty bowl up to Kate.

"Go and get ready for bed, guys," Kate said as she picked up Tom's bowl of the coffee table. Tony switched the television off and turned to face the kids. Tom got up off the couch with a scowl on his face.

"You're not our parents," he said rudely, before storming out of the room. Kate and Tony exchanged confused looks. Tony went to go after him, but stopped when he felt Kate's had rest on his forearm.

"Leave him for a moment," she said softly. Emily had followed Tom quietly and got herself into her pajamas. Kate and Tony crept up the stairs after putting the empty ice-cream bowls in the kitchen and smiled to themselves when they noticed that Emily and Tom were already in bed asleep.

They stood in the doorway admiring the two sleeping children. Kate reached in to pull the door closed quietly and together, she and Tony made their way back to the lounge room.

Just as they settled themselves on the sofa with the Parker's phone records, they heard Emily scream.

"GET AWAY FROM ME."

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Ok, that's all we have written so far. We'd really love some feedback... the more reviews we get, the more inspired we are to write more! So hurry! Review!

Mac and Mel


	9. Chapter 9

**Commitment**

Righty… here's the next chapter to our fic… Thank you for all of your reviews… they have inspired us to write this chapter! We hope you like it!

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**Chapter 9**

"Duke, this is Magnum, possible intruder in the residence," Tony said into his earpiece as he and Kate ran up the stairs towards the children's bedroom. Their guns were drawn as the paused in front of the door. Kate nodded as Tony kicked in the door,

"NCIS – Don't move," Kate yelled as the burst into the room. Tony turned the light on. They were presented with a scared Tom and Emily. Emily was sweating and was hysterical with tears in her eyes. Tom was frightened his back against the wall. Tony and Kate exchanged horrified looks on their faces. Kate ran to the bed and embraced Emily, gently rocking her.

"It's okay Emily, it's okay," Kate kept repeating in a soft caring tone. Tony stood awkwardly before replying to Gibbs.

"Duke, this is Magnum it was a false alarm. Striker and Xena are secure. I repeat Striker and Xena are secure." Tony said looking at Tom who was shaking.

"Keep it that way," was all Gibbs replied. Tony went over to the bed and sat down next to Tom.

"Are you okay kid?" Tony asked. Tom nodded slightly. "It's okay to be scared you know? I know this past day has been tough but you have been really brave but don't worry. Kate and I will make sure everything is okay." Tony said as he placed his arms around Tom. Tom accepted the hug and was relieved in a way. He began sobbing. Tony just gently ruffled his head and allowed the boy to express his feelings. Time seemed to pass slowly. Tony and Kate just looked at each other, words not needed to be spoken.

"You won't leave me will you?" Emily asked Kate and Tony.

"No," Kate simply replied.

"I don't want him to get me," Emily said as she slowly drifted to sleep.

"Who?" Kate whispered but it was too late Emily had drifted to sleep in her arms. Tony lifted Tom up and put him into bed.

"You stay here with the kids and I'll begin searching through the phone records. I'll be up soon, and I'll stay with the kids so they are not alone while you get some rest." Kate simply nodded. Tony walked over to Kate and gently kissed her on the top of her head before moving downstairs.

Kate shifted so Emily could lay back down. Kate released her grip on Emily and pulled back slightly. As soon as she did though, Emily's grasp on her increased, pulling Kate down with her. Sighing, knowing that she wouldn't be able to get away, Kate gently pushed Emily over in the bed and lay down next to her.

Kate felt herself relax. It had been a long day, and when she thought about it, she hadn't slept much the night before; three hours total, probably. She shut her eyes and let herself fall into a sleep. She can't have been asleep long, however, when Emily began thrashing about in her arms.

"No!" Emily wailed. "Get away from me!" She screamed.

Kate sat upright and looked down at Emily. She was in the same state that she was in only one hour ago when her and Tony had coming running up the stairs thinking that there was an intruder.

"Shhh, Emily, it's ok." Kate whispered, stroking Emily's hair. "I'm here. You're safe." Emily rolled over and threw her arms around Kate again and began sobbing in Kate's arms.

Tony came running into the room with his sig drawn. His arm dropped to his side when he realized that, once again, there was no threat. He looked over to Tom, sleeping peacefully. It seemed that Emily's outburst had not woken him this time.

He moved slowly over to Emily's bed and sat next to Kate. He put one hand on her lower back, the other resting lightly on her knee. "Is everything ok?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, she just had another nightmare," Kate replied. "I want to know who she's talking about though," she said sadly. Tony rubbed her back lightly.

"You can ask her tomorrow. Try and get some sleep," Tony said. He kissed her lightly on the forehead again. He went to stand up, but Kate's hand flew up and stopped his movement.

"Stay up here," she whispered. Tony looked towards Kate he knew he couldn't refuse her.

"I'll just go get those records and I'll be right back okay?" Tony whispered. Kate wanted to protest but she knew that Gibbs expected his orders to be followed.

By the time Tony had returned Kate to move up the bed so Tony could lean against the headboard and she could rest her head in Tony's lap while Emily remained firmly near her. As Tony looked through the phone records, Kate slowly closed her eyes, finally letting sleep take over.

When she woke, dawn had broken and Tony was looking down at her smiling. He slowly moved a strand of hair from her face. She looked at him, closed her eyes and smiled.

"Good Morning beautiful," Tony said.

"Hmm…Morning," Kate mumbled, "What time is it?"

"Ahh, 6.30, we need to get up soon," Tony said without having the conviction to move. Next to Kate, Emily stirred and began to wake up. Tony quickly jumped out of bed, not wanting the kids to see him in bed with Kate, even though literally nothing happened.

"Mum…" Emily cried out. When she opened her eyes and was faced with Kate, she immediately erupted into sobs. "I want my mummy," Emily wailed. Kate's heart broke into a thousand pieces and there was nothing she could other than hold the crying child in her arms.

"Emm…" a sleepy Tom awoke.

He saw Tony standing in the middle of the room and gave him a smile. Tom crawled out of bed and sleepily walked over to where Emily lay with Kate. He lifted the covers and climbed into the bed next to Kate. The single bed was not really fit for three people, but somehow, they managed to squeeze in. Tom cuddled up next to Kate causing Tony to smile broadly at the site in front of him. Kate was laying in the middle of the bed with two children cuddled up to her on either side. Thankfully, Emily's tears had now subsided.

"How about I go and get breakfast ready and then you three can come down in a minute?" Tony suggested. They had to get moving or else Gibbs would take their badges.

Tony, Kate, Tom and Emily managed to wake up, have some breakfast and head back to NCIS Head Quarters. At 8.31 am the elevator door opened.

"You're late," Gibbs said not looking up from his computer.

"Gibbs it's only like 8.31," Tony said looking at his watch.

"And I told you to be here at 8.30," Gibbs said. Tony was about to say something when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked at Kate who was shaking her head.

"What do you have for me?"

"I'll take the kids to the get a drink," Kate said, not wanting the kids to overhear what Tony was about to say.

"Mrs Parker seemed to have been in constant contact with a certain number when Mr Parker was away. I have my buddy at the phone company tracing that number." Gibbs got up and left the bullpen. Tony just looked at Gibbs. He hated it when he was like this. He knew why though; the Parkers had been missing for over 24 hours and they still had no substantial lead. The more time they wasted, the less likely the Parkers were to remain alive.

Kate returned a few minutes later with Tom and Emily in tow. Tom went and sat behind Tony's desk and Emily went and sat with Kate behind hers. Abby came bounding into the bullpen excitedly, breaking the silence that had formed. She was waving a piece of paper at Gibbs as she ran past Kate and Tony's desk. "Gibbs! Gibbs!" She exclaimed. "I have a name!"

Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "For who?"

"For the person who sent those emails!" She seemed to be bursting with this new found information. Gibbs stood up and gestured for them all to follow him. He didn't want the kids to hear anything.

"Abs?" Gibbs said expectantly.

"His name is Richard Jones."

"Richard Jones!" Tony scoffed. "There's gotta be at least a thousand Richard Jones in the phone book!"

"Richard," Kate said, rolling the name on her tongue. "Uncle Richard!" She exclaimed, "it's gotta be the same. It's too much of a coincidence!" Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I know, you don't believe in coincidences, but come on, Gibbs! At least we have a name, now. Let's go back to the Parker's house and see if we can get an address."

"No you stay here with Tony and the kids. I want you work on the case here. McGee gas the sedan, lets go." Gibbs strode out of the bullpen and went to the elevator. McGee tried to catch up to Gibbs but by the time he reached the elevator the doors had already closed. Tony laughed before putting his heads in his hands.

"Her diary!" Tony exclaimed looking up at Kate. Kate wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "You know. You keep everything in you PDA. Lieutenant Parker probably did the same." Tony explained, as he and Kate moved slowly back into the bullpen.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, dates and stuff," Tony said, rolling his eyes. Surely Kate wasn't that thick.

"Like appointments?" Kate suggested, stifling a yawn. She really wasn't following his train of thought.

"Kate!" Tony said, exasperation evident. "You can't be that tired!" She raised her eyebrows at him. "You know… monthly dates," Tony said, blushing.

"Oh!" Kate said, finally realizing what he meant by 'dates'. "But why are you interested in that?"

"Uncle Richard!" He stated.

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That's all we have for now… please review and tell us what you thought of it. We'd really appreciate your feedback. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Commitment**

Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! Mel and I have written another part to it… we hope you're still enjoying this fic…

**

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Chapter 10**

Kate stared incredulously at Tony. "Tony,you can'tbe serious?" Kate said.

"I am serious Kate, why not?" Tony said seriously. "Pull up the Parkers record. Do they even have a brother or a brother-in-law?" Kate quickly typed away at her computer until their file came up again.

"No, they don't. But I still don't see how her diary has to do with anything." Kate said.

"Well, as well as keeping a record she had written down that her birth control pills finished and she need to see a doctor," Tony said.

"Are you against usingprotection now?" Kate asked.

"Why would you go to such lengths when your husband is away for such long periods of time?" Tony said. Kate looked at Tony in disgust.

"Why do you always think the worst Tony? Kate asked. "A young successful woman and of course she has to be a slut doesn't she?" Kate said angrily. Rationally, she knew Tony was right but at the moment she just needed to release all the stress she had been harboring since they took on the case.

"Whoa, Kate! Don't take it so personally, I didn't mean that, you know that." Tony said looking down. "Maybe now is the time to talk to Emily and Tom and see who Uncle Richard really is?"

Kate's frown turned into a small smile. "I hate it when you're right!" She said to Tony. He chuckled at her.

"I'll leave the kids to you. Meanwhile, I'll try and get a name and address from the phone company." Kate nodded and moved over to her desk. "Hey, buddy," Tony said crouching down next to Tom, "Kate wants to talk to you and Emily."

Wordlessly, Tom jumped out of Tony's chair and walked to where Kate had perched herself on her desk, looking down at Emily. She scrambled over in Kate's chair, making room for her big brother to join her.

"Who is Uncle Richard?" Kate asked outright. Kate studied their reactions closely. She saw Emily's eyes light up, and then she recoiled in horror. Tom avoided her eyes altogether, instead, focusing on the plain carpet. Kate's eyes went from Emily, to Tom, then back to Emily. "Emily?" she asked softly. "Who is Uncle Richard? Is he the person from your nightmares?" Emily lifted her eyes and looked at Kate. Kate's heart sank three floors when she saw the sadness behind the six-year-olds eyes.

Emily nodded her head slowly, and a tear trickled down her cheek. Tom put his arm around his little sister protectively. "He's always at our house when Dad's not there," he said vehemently. Kate thought for a moment about how to word her next question. Emily's reaction was far from normal, and coupled with the nightmares from the night before, her mind was screaming at her for not having picked up on it earlier.

She reached forward and took hold of Emily's hands. "Emily, does he hurt you?" Tears silently slid down Emily's eyes. Kate took the girl into her arms. Tony seeing the expression on Kate's face knew the case had taken a sinister turn.

"Thanks buddy, Can you fax it over to me? I know I owe you a beer, soon okay? Bye" Tony disconnected the call as quickly as possible. Kate put Emily down.

"Emily, I will be a moment I just need to go speak to Tony and I will bring you and Tom a glass of water okay?" Kate said. Emily just nodded. Tony followed Kate to the water cooler.

"Kate?" Tony asked.

"I think Richard Jones may have been molesting Emily and Tom," Kate said quietly. Tony looked over at two children and ran his hands through his hair. He sighed.

"We need to talk to them. You call Gibbs, I will call the Department of Children's Services." Tony said, taking Kate's hand into his own.

"No," Kate said.

"No?"

"These kids have been through enough, they don't need to be put through this by strangers." Kate said stubbornly

"Kate, it's not up to us. We need to alert the authorities…" Tony began but was interrupted.

"Can't we just speak to them first and see what they say?" Kate pleaded.

"Okay," Tony answered. "Call Gibbs, and I'll lead them to Interrogation Rooms, we need to record what they say,"

"No," Kate said. "Not now, they will be too frightened." Kate said. Her heart was breaking. The pain was giving way to anger. How could someone do this? It was sick and perverted. Tony pleaded with Kate and finally she relented. She would speak to Emily in one room, while Tony would speak to Tom in another. She also phoned Gibbs. She could feel his voice hardening with each second.

* * *

"Emily, honey, I know it's hard but I need you to tell me who Uncle Richard is," Kate began softly.

"He is a man who always comes to the house. He used to work with mummy." Emily answered looking at the two-way mirror.

"Emily, how often would you see him?"

"I don't know, he used to come over a lot. He would always bring me something to play with. Tom used to be jealous because he never got anything. He used to call me his own little princess." Emily said, not fully understanding the situation she was in. Sub-consciously she knew she could trust Kate.

"What would Richard do?" Kate asked carefully, knowing how emotional Emily must be.

"He and mummy would always play games. He would hug her and then kiss her." Emily began, "Then mummy said I could go to the park with him."

"Did you go to the Park?" Kate asked.

"No, he would always take me to his house. He said we could play grown up games like he and mummy did," Kate's eyes swelled with tears as she heard Emily speak. "Kate," Emily said looking up at Kate, "I don't like grown up games." Emily then began sobbing uncontrollably. "Stop, Stop," The child yelled. Kate motioned for the tape recorder to stop as she picked up the child and rocked her in her arms.

"You're safe Emily, okay? Nothing bad can happen to you here." Kate repeated over and over. Tony heart flipped as he saw Kate and Emily. His eyes filled with water. He couldn't understand how someone could hurt a child so innocent.

Kate sat in interrogation rocking Emily in her arms for half an hour. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. Emily, finally, stopped crying. "I want to go home," she whispered to Kate.

"I know, sweetie," Kate whispered back, fighting to keep her voice even, "but Tony and I still have a lot of work to do. I'll be back in a minute, ok?" She felt Emily nod her head in response, so she lifted her off her lap and placed her back on the chair. "I'll just be on the other side of that, ok?" Kate said, pointing to the two-way mirror.

Kate slipped out of interrogation and met up with Tony in the observation room. Kate stood in the doorway with her hands hanging by her sides. The case had certainly taken a dark twist, and it unnerved them both.

"Pete, can you give us a sec?" Tony said to the technician. Pete got out of his seat and left the observation room. When the door clicked shut behind him, Kate made eye contact with Tony. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. Slowly, he took one step towards her. He reached out and took a hold of her hand, running his thumb over her knuckles. She bit her lip in an effort to stop the tears from falling, but it didn't work. A sob escaped from her lips. Tony took another step forward and pulled her into his arms. "Shh, Katie," he whispered in her ear. "Everything will be ok."

"Tony how can you say that? That poor child's life is ruined." Kate said, gripping onto Tony even tighter. Tony placed one hand over her chin and lifted her head so that her eyes met his.

"Kate, this is not your fault," Tony began and Kate tried to move away. "Kate don't fight me, you couldn't have done anything to stop it you just have to make things right and the way to do that is to solve the case. You need to distance yourself from Emily." Tony said.

"Tony she needs me," Kate replied, more tears falling down her face. Tony sighed.

"No Kate, she needs her mother." Kate sprang out of Tony's arms, revolted, as if she had been slapped in the face and gave Tony a confused look. It broke his heart to cause Kate such pain. Suddenly the door burst open, and Gibbs walked in, anger radiating from his body.

"Gibbs," Tony said.

"Is she okay?" Gibbs asked. Tony wasn't sure whether he was referring to Emily or to Kate.

"Gibbs," Tony began seeing Kate hadn't fully composed herself, "Richard Jones sexually molested Emily. Tom was never sexually abused but he knew something was happening to Emily. When he tried to talk to his mother she refused to listen. We believe Mrs. Parker may have been involved in a relationship with him that originated through her office. I pulled up any Richard Jones that Mrs. Parker may have been in contact with and discovered in the past 9 years there have been three Richard Jones: Two petty officers and one Lieutenant. Of those three men, two are still in the Navy." Gibbs just looked at Tony. He ran his hands through his hair. He hated being so helpless. These children were suffering and he couldn't have stopped it.

"Good job. I want to find this bastard now. DiNozzo and McGee work with Abby and track down the men. Kate, you and I will go to the hospital. I have contacted DCF and they have agreed to keep the child in our custody for protection reasons. A social worker will organize for them to seek counseling." Gibbs said before leaving the room and entering the room to speak to Emily.

"Hi Emily," Gibbs said quietly entering the room.

"Mr. Gibbs!" Emily smiled at Gibbs. He reminded her of her dad and she felt safe with him.

"Kate and I are going to take you to see a doctor just to make sure you are okay, okay?" Gibbs explained to the girl.

"What will the doctor do?" Emily asked. Her bottom lip began quivering.

"Hey, this is nothing to be afraid of, she is just going to take some pictures with a special camera." Gibbs said taking a hold of the girls' hand.

"Will Kate be there?" Emily asked, and Gibbs nodded. "What about Tom?" Emily wanted her brother near her as well.

"Kate's getting him now, and he will come to the doctors but only Kate will be there while the doctors talk to you, okay?" Again Emily nodded her head. Gibbs stood up and offered her his hand. Emily placed her small hand in his and followed Gibbs without question. In the corridor, Kate and Tom met Gibbs and Emily and together they walked towards the elevator.

Tony stood alone in the corridor and he watched as Kate and Gibbs walked away with the children. "I'm gonna get the bastard," Tony muttered to himself, "if it's the last thing I do." He'd tried to distance himself from the case right from the start, but now it had become personal.

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Please review! 


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Being a Sunday evening Kate and Gibbs arrived at the hospital quite quickly though that may have had something to do with Gibbs erratic driving.

"Dr. Craig, Special Agent Gibbs. This is Special Agent Todd and Emily and Thomas Parker." Dr Marissa Craig stood before Gibbs. She smiled at the children before leaning down to speak to them.

"Hi Emily, Hi Thomas, I am Dr. Craig. Do you want to just follow me and the nurse will help you put on a special hospital uniform?" Tom simply nodded and Emily's hand squeezed harder against Kate's.

"Can Kate stay with me?" Emily's small voice asked.

"Special Agent Kate will just stay outside while you get changed, but I promise you as soon as you are done, she can come back inside." Emily nodded reluctantly letting go of Kate's hand. Kate and Gibbs watched the two Parker children being led away.

"Sometimes I just hate the world," Kate sighed. Gibbs looked at Kate, his eyes softening. "Don't you Gibbs?"

"Kate," Gibbs replied softly, "There are some things you can't control. You just do your job and try to stop whatever is wrong today. Then you begin again tomorrow." Kate looked at Gibbs. She noticed the lines that had formed around his eyes. She could see suffering in his eyes.

"But how do you survive Gibbs?" Kate asked.

"Find someone to love and who loves you and never lose that feeling Kate." Gibbs replied. His lips then formed a smile. "But you don't need me to tell you that, do you?" Gibbs walked off when he saw Dr. Craig enter the corridor. Kate looked at Gibbs for a moment and smiled at the thought of Tony she then shook her head: Gibbs knew. She then hurried to Emily's room.

Emily was sitting on the side of the bed in a hospital gown, her legs dangling over the edge, when Kate entered the room. "You ok?" She asked Emily feebly. Emily looked up at Kate, fear dancing in your eyes.

"Is it going to hurt?"

Kate bit on her lip, unsure of how much information to reveal to Emily. "It might hurt a little bit, but I'll be here the whole time."

"Where's Tom?" Emily asked, suddenly aware that her brother was not with her.

"He's in the next room with Gibbs. He's fine," Kate said soothingly. Emily relaxed a little, but it was obvious that the day's events were haunting Emily. Kate could tell that she had never spoken about it before, so she was on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

"You're a very brave little girl, Emily," Kate whispered in her ear as she wrapped her arm around the small child. "Your mother would have been very proud of you today." At the mention of her mother, Emily began to cry.

"You're not going to find her, are you?" Emily asked through her tears. Kate reached over to the bedside table and reached for the tissue box. She gently wiped away Emily's tears.

"Honey, we are doing everything we can to try and find your mummy and daddy." Kate said, hugging Emily to hide the tears that had formed in her own eyes. Soon Dr Craig entered the room.

"Hi Emily, I just need to do a few tests. It may be uncomfortable, but it's going to over soon?" Dr Craig said as she sat down at the foot of the exam table and began her examination. Emily spent the time in tears and Kate sat beside Emily holding her hand being there for the child. Inside, her heart was breaking she was unable to take away the pain the hurt and the humiliation Emily was feeling.. The child was only six. Minutes later they left the hospital room. Emily briefly released her hands from Kate's to hug her brother. Gibbs looked on, but Kate could see a smile forming. Dr Craig quietly spoke to Gibbs and Kate.

"There is reason to believe that Emily has been sexually abused for some time," Gibbs remained motionless, placing his hands in his pockets to prevent him from breaking anything in sight. "Tom appears to be physically at least in good health. I have taken some blood to do a full work up, but I am allowing you to take them for their own protection. I will pass on their folder to a caseworker, who will be in touch with you in the morning." Kate nodded,

"Thank-you, Doctor Craig." They then went back to NCIS HQ where Gibbs and Kate were hoping that there had been some sort of a breakthrough.

--

Back at NCIS, Tony had found addresses for the three Richard Jones that Lieutenant Parker possibly worked with in the Navy. The two Petty Officers were still serving with the Navy but Lieutenant Richard Jones had been dishonourably discharged twelve months ago. Tony dug deeper into his file and found that it had been Lieutenant Parker who was responsible for his dismissal. "Gotchya!" Tony yelled, jumping out of his chair. Of course it was circumstantial at this stage, but it just seemed to be too much of a co-incidence. He was also the one who worked with Lieutenant Parker the most.

McGee looked up from his desk, startled at Tony's sudden bust of energy. That sudden resemblance to Abby had shocked him. "What have you found, Tony?" McGee asked.

"Lieutenant Richard Jones was dishonourably discharged from the Navy twelve months ago, Probie!"

"That doesn't mean that it's him. There are three Richard Jones stationed at Norfolk," McGee rationalized.

"But Parker was the one in charge of his dismissal."

"Well, that um does make it interesting," McGee said looking at Tony. McGee bringing up the file saw something even more interesting.

"He was granted entrance into the base last week, his visit lodged as a guest of Lieutenant Parker at her office," McGee said looking up at Tony.

Tony went over to Probie's desk. "Probie contact the security office, get a tape of it. His naval photo is quite old, we need to know what he looks like now." Tony ordered. Just then the elevator doors opened. "Boss," Tony said getting up. "We think we have found our Jones. Twelve months ago he was discharged due to a complaint Lieutenant Parker made against him. He also visited her last week at the office. I have Probie pulling the surveillance tapes." Tony said, catching his breath.

"Kate contact JAG and pull his dismissal case," Gibbs ordered. "Tony find his address and evaluate the site for entry and possible exits. We may be paying him a visit, but I want to be prepared." Gibbs said before walking up the stairs, to contact Director Morrow presumably.

Emily and Tom were standing on either side of Kate. As Gibbs disappeared from view, Kate ushered them to her desk and Tony came over to speak to her. Leaning in, he spoke softly. "Everything go ok at the hospital?"

Kate looked up at him and bit her lip. "The Doctor said that there is evidence that Emily has been sexually abused for a while, but Tom is ok, physically at least."

Tony nodded. "And how are you?" He leant in a little bit closer, his face barely centimeters from her own.

"I'm fine. Look, let's get moving. The quicker we find Jones, hopefully, the sooner we'll find their parents… alive." She turned away from Tony and sat on top of her desk. She picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number at JAG.

"Commander Coleman, it's Special Agent Todd," Kate said curtly into the phone. "I need you to fax over the dismissal case for a Lieutenant Richard Jones roughly twelve months ago." There was a pause before Kate spoke again. "Oh! You remember it?" Tony looked up from his desk, waiting to see what their favourite Commander had to say about it. "Right, yep, I understand," Kate said. This was followed by another lengthy pause. "Thanks. I'll get back to you about that. Bye." Kate hung up the phone and walked over to where Tony was sitting at his desk.

"Commander Coleman remembers the case. Parker made all sorts of accusations against Jones, only one of them held up in court though. She's faxing through all JAG's got on it."

"This case just keeps on getting more interesting by the minute," Tony remarked.

"Too many minutes have gone by, Tony," Kate said softly before turning back to the kids. "Hey Emily, Tom, let's go down and see if Abby has any new computer games for you to play." She smiled as their faces lit up and they jumped from her chair. She held out her hands, which they willingly accepted. With Tom on her left and Emily on her right, they walked over to the elevator to go down to Abby's lab, not knowing what the next few hours were going to bring.

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	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Two dark NCIS Sedans pulled up in front of Richard Jones' address in the outskirts of DC. Without much fuss, the four agents exited their vehicles. Tony and McGee went around to the back entrance while Gibbs and Kate took the front door. Together they entered the house searching every square inch, corridors, cellars, and wardrobes. The house was empty.

"NCIS," they all yelled, their sigs drawn.

"Dammit, where the hell is the bastard." Gibbs yelled in a myriad of anger and frustration. Tony was distracted. He was looking at the wall which Gibbs fist had made an acquaintance only moments before.

"Look at the picture, it's Emily and Richard," Tony said pointing to the framed photo. Gibbs placed on a rubber glove before turning on the lights. The team walked into the lounge room.

All around the room there were framed pictures of Emily.

"There was a children's bedroom down the back," McGee said. Gibbs strode towards it. On the door in playful letters was the name Emily. The bedroom was pink. As the team looked around the room they felt something sinister creep up their spine. On the white dressing table lay a sparkling tiara with a white envelope

Tony moved closer to the table and with a small camera he had in his pocket he began taking pictures. Gibbs carefully picked up the letter. There it read: _"Ready or Not, You'll never find me, NCIS."_

"I want you to search every inch of this house. There must be a clue of where he is now." Gibbs exited the house, pulled out his phone and rang up Abby.

"Boss man!" Abby greeted Gibbs.

"Abbs, I need you to trace where those emails were sent from," Gibbs ordered and hung up before Abby had a chance to answer.

As the team swirled into life, ready to bag and tag anything useful, Kate's stood in the middle of the room and spun around slowly, absorbing every inch of the surroundings. McGee had left the room to check out the rest of the house. Gibbs was still holding the letter in his hand, reading it over and over, whilst Tony was taking photographs of everything.  
"Kate!" Gibbs said, breaking her out of her silent reverie. "Kate!" he called again. This time, her head snapped up and she looked at him. "Come on, standing there isn't going to help Emily." She nodded and walked over to the bed. She bent down and pulled back the covers slowly. She gasped loudly at what she saw. Tony and Gibbs stopped what they were doing and walked over to her.

"Bag it," Gibbs said in a soft tone, a tone that wasn't usually heard from him. Before them were blood-stained sheets. Kate reached out a shaking hand and began to strip the bed of it's linen, just like she had done when she was searching for the Parker's laptop.

Without a word, Tony handed her a large evidence bag to put the sheets in. Gibbs walked out of the room to find McGee. He was hoping McGee would find a computer that would confirm that he was the one emailing Lieutenant Parker. Not that there was any doubt, however, but they still needed to be able to link everything together.

Tony took the evidence bag from Kate and placed one hand on her upper arm. "We'll get him, Kate, I promise." Kate bit down on her bottom lip and looked up at him.

"What if we don't?"

"Kate, we have to," Tony answered. Every fibre of his being was telling him to take Kate away from the scene to stop her pain but in his mind he knew that if they didn't solve this case the consequences may be fatal and not just for the Parker kids

Kate looked at the mattress. The blood had stained through the sheet. She ran outside to escape from the confines of that room. she needed air. Tony rushed to follow her. She had bent over in a bed or roses, which had been neglected. He was crouched over and was uncontrollably throwing up.

"Oh Kate," Tony bent down and moved her hair from her face. "Just breathe." Kate was begun hyperventilating. "Honey, you need to breathe, just breathe slowly for me Kate, please."

Kate sat down on the ground and placed her head between her knees. Tony looked up and saw something protruding from the ground not far from where they were now sitting. He placed his hand lightly on her back. "I'm just going to check something out. Just relax," Tony said quietly. He got up and moved to where he could see the soil had only recently been dug up and put back down.

He bent down and ran his hand lightly over the soil. "Gibbs!" he called out. Kate looked up from her position on the ground and Gibbs came walking out of the house.

"What have you got, DiNozzo?" he asked, bending down next to him.

"I don't know, Boss, it might be nothing, but this soil has only recently been put down. Look at how it sits," Tony said, pointing the raised section of earth. Instinctively, he took several photographs from different angles, keen to dig up this section of the garden to see what lay beneath.

"McGee!" Gibbs barked. "I need you out here." Several seconds later, McGee came running from the house. "Start digging. Stop when you think you've hit something," he ordered. Gibbs stood back up and walked over to Kate, leaving his two male agents with the task of digging up the soil.

"Are you ok, Kate?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Gibbs."

"It's late, go back and pick up the kids and take them to the house for the night. Get some rest."

"Gibbs, I'm fine. I can keep working. I don't need to get any rest," Kate defied. She stood up and brushed herself off.

"The kids need rest though," Gibbs pointed out.

"Tomorrow is Monday," Kate stated, wide-eyed as if it was a major piece of information. "They have school, Gibbs."

"They're not going to school."

"But they have to," Kate said back.

"It's not safe." Kate was saved from answering because Tony yelled out something.

"We got something here, Boss!" Both Gibbs and Kate moved over to where Tony and McGee were standing, shovels in hand. Gibbs bent down an examined what they had found. Tony continued to take several photos. Gibbs pulled the item out and dusted off any excess dirt.

"It's Lieutenant Parker's cover," Gibbs said.

"DiNozzo bag and tag it and give it to Kate. She's going back to HQ. Tell Abby to run a full analysis of it, run a DNA test of the cap and a soil sample to tell us how long it has been there. McGee keep digging." Gibbs ordered while standing there. He slowly lifted his cap and ran his fingers through his graying hair. "I need a coffee," he muttered.

"Gibbs," Kate began, "What is she meant to compare the DNA to?"

"Get her to compare it to Emily's," Gibbs replied.

"Okay, I'll be going," Kate, said, before pausing slightly. She looked back at Tony who was watching her. He nodded his head slightly.

Just as Kate was getting into the sedan, Gibbs voice called out to her. "Kate!" he said. "Wait a second!" Kate paused and looked over at Tony and McGee. They both shrugged. "Don't forget the sheets." Kate froze, a look of horror washed over her face. Gibbs disappeared into the house and came out moments later with the evidence bag in hand. He held them out to Kate, but she didn't accept them. Her eyes flicked to Tony and then to the sheets in Gibbs hand. Her breathing quickened and her palms began sweating.

Tony, seeing Kate's distress, walked slowly over to where she was standing with Gibbs. "Kate," Gibbs said, "take the sheets."

"Gibbs, I..." Kate began, before trailing off. She dropped her eyes and stared intently at the ground.

"I'll take them," Tony said as he reached Gibbs side. "She's in no state to drive." Tony looked directly at Kate as he said that and waited for her to lift her eyes to look at him. Gibbs looked between his two agents, waiting for Kate to respond. Eventually, she lifted her eyes and looked at Tony.

"I can't do this any more," she stated, a single tear trailing down her cheek.

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	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Tony and Kate drove to NCIS in silence. As Tony parked in the Naval yard parking lot Kate looked at him, her eyes red from tears. Tony just looked at her unable to move from the moment. He had wanted nothing more than to take away her pain, her suffering, but he couldn't and it was slowly killing him inside. Kate turned opened the door and slowly walked away. Tony quickly jumped out of the car and followed her.

"Kate, listen to me," Tony began his voice full of mixed emotion. "You need to do this, please think of Emily and Tom. If you leave what will happen to them? What will happen to you?" Tony asked. Kate looked up at him.

"How can I do this Tony?" Kate asked.

"By finding the bastard Kate," Tony looked down for a moment to collect his thoughts. Slowly he looked up at her and with his thumb her gently wiped away her tears. He smiled at her and gently kissed her. "Kate, you need to do your job. If you don't you will be a failure to Emily," he said to her in a tone barley above a whisper. Tony's words run in her ears. Kate's back straightened, she wiped her eyes one more time and set off for Abby's lab. Tony had given her the strength she lacked.

Tony followed behind her as the made their way to the lab. Three heads looked up when the doors swished open. "Kate!" Emily yelled. She jumped down from the chair she was sitting on and ran to where Kate was standing in the doorway. She flung her arms around her waist just like she had done earlier. Still raw and emotional from what they had found at Jones' house, Kate fought back tears. Abby, Tom and Tony watched as Kate tried to control her emotions, but the more she tried, the harder it was.

"Hey, Tommy," Abby whispered, "why don't we go use the other computer in my lab?" she suggested. Tom nodded and silently followed Abby into the other room. Tony hovered in the doorway, unsure of what to do. Kate knelt down in front of Emily and collected her into her arms. When Emily hugged her tighter, Kate lost control of her emotions and began crying on the six-year-olds shoulder.

"Kate, why don't you go get Emily something to eat?" Tony aksed. Kate looked at him and saw the evidence bag in his hand and nodded.

"Emily how would you like a chocolate ice-cream?" Kate asked walking out of the lab with Emily holding her hand and calling Tom to follow.

"Tony!" Abby exclaimed. Her face dropped when she saw Tony's face.

"I have some evidence that needs priority. There is a cover and bloodstained sheets," Tony replied. Abby took the evidence off Tony and began to process it. She stopped when she saw the pink floral sheets. She looked up at Tony, her eyes full of questions.

"I am afraid so Abbs," Tony stated sadly.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and watched on as Abby carefully pulled the sheets out of the evidence bag. He transferred his weight from one foot to the other. If he was distracting Abby, she didn't say anything. She simply continued on with the work in front of her. Eventually, after twenty or so minutes had passed, it got to her. "Tony!" she said, spinning around to face him.

"What have you got, Abs?" he said in his best Gibbs voice. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Nothing yet, but you're driving me crazy. Go and see if Kate is ok." Tony didn't respond. He just walked out of the lab and over to the elevators. Abby turned around and stared down at the blood-stained sheets in front of her. She sighed loudly. 'Music,' she thought to herself. 'I need music.' She bounded over to her stereo and pressed play. With loud music attacking her ears, she began running the sample of blood that was on the sheets.

Abby was especially cautious with this evidence. She was so involved in her work she didn't even hear Kate walk into the lab.

"Abbs," Kate said as Abby jumped

"Kate," Abby simply said. "How are you?" Abby asked unsure how to act. Kate looked exhausted but she also looked clam.

"I shouldn't complain you know?" Kate said walking to plasma. "How's it going?" Abby bit her lip. She could see how involved this case had gotten.

"The DNA on the sheets matches the DNA sample I took from Emily. There was no semen on the sheets." Kate just nodded fighting back a tide of emotions. Abby got her chairr and wheeled it to Kate. Kate sat relieved to be off her feet.

Abby put her arms around her friend shoulders.

"So missy, when were you going to tell me about you and Sex machine?" Abby said lightly to change the mood. Kate was taken aback. A smile crept across her face as she recalled the night her and Tony first got together, just over a week ago.

"Abbs, can I tell you about it when all this is over please?" Kate said smiling.

"I'll hold you to it," Abby laughed.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the crime scene Gibbs made a small discovery. He was in the kitchen when he discovered a set of car keys at the back of a drawer. "McGee!" Gibbs called.

"Yes, boss," McGee said as he literally came running into the kitchen.

"You checked the shed yet?"

"Ah, no, um, I'll get right on it," McGee said, his eyes darting between his boss and the keys in his hand. "Are those the keys to his car?"

"Gee, I don't know, McGee," Gibbs said sarcastically. "Why don't you go and see if there is one out there."

"Yes, boss!" McGee exclaimed before making a hasty exit.

He walked outside and noticed a large shed at the end of the driveway. With one hand on his holster, he crept over and peeked through a window. There was no movement inside. All McGee could see was the shape of a dark coloured sedan. He quickly ran back into the house to tell Gibbs. Moments later, they were both crouched down at the entrance to the shed.

"On 3, McGee," Gibbs ordered. McGee nodded. 'One, two, three," Gibbs mouthed. He lifted his leg and kicked the door open. They had their sigs drawn and were ready to fire if something jumped out at them.

"Clear!" McGee shouted. There was no one inside the vehicle. The shed seemed to be deserted. Gibbs looked down at the licence plate. "TKL 564," he stated. "This matches the car that was following Kate and Tony yesterday.

Suddenly, there was a loud thumping noise from the trunk of the car. Gibbs and McGee shared a bewildered expression. The moved around to the back of the car and Gibbs stuck the key in. McGee had his weapon trained on the trunk, unsure of what was inside. Gibbs released the key and the trunk opened.

"NCIS! Federal Agents!" Gibbs and McGee shouted simultaneously.

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That's all we have so far... sorry about the delays between updates. Please review... 


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

McGee jumped back when he saw what had been hidden in the trunk. Gibbs just stared at the two guards in the boot. They were placed together so their legs were interlocked much like two wrestlers would be. Gaffer tapped tied around their mouth, hands and feet. They had clearly tried to removed the tape but failed.

"Well McGee, are you going to help these men out or what?" Gibbs said quickly removing the tape off the first officer's mouth and McGee the second.

"Ouch," the guards said simultaneously. McGee then assisted Gibbs in removing the men from the back of the vehicle.

McGee and Gibbs made short work of removing the tape from their legs and feet. "What happened?" Gibbs barked once the guard's limbs were free.

The two guards looked at each other before the taller of the two began to speak. "Sir, we, ah, don't actually know."

"What?" Gibbs shrieked.

"Well, one minute we were standing guard, and the next minute, we were being put in the trunk." He looked down at his watch. "We've been in the trunk for 38 hours now." The smaller guard nodded. Gibbs pulled out his cell phone and called for an ambulance to check the men over.

"I want written statements from both of you at 0900 tomorrow morning," Gibbs told them as they were being loaded into ambulances.

As Gibbs and McGee were entering the sedan his phone rang. "Gibbs," short and straight to the point as always.

"Ah, Hi Special Agent Gibbs, This is Dr Craig from Bethesda Naval Hospital where I examined Thomas and Emily Parker," Dr Craig's voice was calm and self assured. "I know it's late but I had a priority put on the tests and I have found something quite intresting, I checked the tests myself to make sure there was no mis…" Dr Craig was interrupted by by an impatient Gibbs,

"Dr Craig what is it?"

"My tests conclude that Emily has been sexually abused and for some time. There was considerable damage done. Once a guardian is confirmed she will need to return for more tests to ensure the damage is not permanent." Dr Craig's voice attempted to remain impersonal but it was difficult. On the other end of the phone she could hear Gibbs jaw lock.

"I am afraid that's not all my tests concluded. Thomas and Emily are only half brother and sister. They only share one parent. Their mother." Dr Craig answered. Gibbs just stared at the steering wheel for a second when he realized what that meant, before focusing back on the road.

Soon they had reached the Old Navy Yard. Without saying a word to McGee, Gibbs walked straight to Abby's lab where she was staring at the screen.

"Gibbs, my hero," she exclaimed. Gibbs raised his eyebrows at her.

"Where's Kate, Tony and the kids?" He asked as he walked over to switch off the music blaring out of the speakers.

"Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed. "You know I need my music to work!"

"Well, I need to talk. Where are they?" Abby shot McGee a confused look, unsure of what had caused Gibbs' grumpiness. McGee raised his hands as if to say 'don't ask me'.

"They're in the break room getting something to eat. The kids were hungry," Abby retorted, trying to maintain her usual effervescent manner.

"I want them here, now. Send the kids to Ducky for babysitting."

"Yes, Boss-man!" Abby mock saluted before grinning broadly at him.

"NOW, ABBS!" Gibbs barked. Abby's eyes widened in shock. Gibbs had never used that tone of voice with her before. She turned on her heel and picked up the phone resting on the bench.

"Kate! It's Abby! Something is definitely hinky. Gibbs wants you and Tony here now. He said to take the kids to Ducky." There was a pause before Abby spoke again. "He needs coffee."

"Abby!" Gibbs yelled from behind her.

"Did you hear that?" Abby said to Kate. "He's not a happy camper."

"Abby! Tell them to get their asses down here now or else I will fire them."

"Hear that, Kate?" Abby asked.

No more than two minutes later, Kate and Tony came running into the lab. They saw a perplexed Abby and McGee and a very angry Gibbs. "Gibbs, what's going on?" Kate asked cautiously. Since she'd been in the break room with Tony and the kids, she'd relaxed considerably and was beginning to put some distance between herself and the case.

"We found the car that was tailing you," Gibbs said.

"At the house?" DiNozzo asked.

"Hear me out," Gibbs ordered. "The two guards assigned to watch the Parker's house turned up in the trunk. They're on their way to hospital now and they'll be kept in overnight for observation." Tony and Kate nodded. McGee stood there unaffected by that news, but he didn't know what had made Gibbs so angry. Gibbs had not said anything to McGee about the doctor's results. "Dr Craig called me," Gibbs continued. He focused his eyes on Kate. He could see her shoulders tense up. He noticed that Kate shifted her weight onto her left foot at the same time that Tony shifted his weight onto his right foot, drawing them closer together. "Tom is fine. Emily has been sexually abused over a long period of time." Kate gasped loudly, and instinctively moved even closer to Tony.

"Your face tells me that there is more, boss," Tony stated. Gibbs diverted his eyes to Tony for a brief moment before focusing his gaze on his female agent. There was a lengthy pause before Gibbs told them the small piece of information which would change the way they looked at the case.

"Emily and Tom are only half-brother and sister."

Tony looked at Gibbs and he nodded his head slightly. Kate could feel the bile rising in her throat. Tony sensing it reached under Abby's desk and put the bin, where Kate involuntarily threw up. Kate looked up and saw the team looking at her and ran out of the lab to the bathroom. Abby moved to follow her, but Gibbs shook his head slightly. "Tony, go and bring Agent Todd back. We have a case to solve." Gibbs said. Tony looked at Gibbs for a moment and nodded his head slightly in recognition. Tony found Kate in the bathroom. Her face was wet.

"Kate," Tony whispered.

"That bastard," Kate yelled. Tony moved towards Kate. "Stay away from me." She yelled. Kate was irrational. She wanted the pain to go away.

"Kate," Tony said his voice rising slightly.

"Don't Kate me Tony, you have no idea…" Kate moved to try and get around Tony but he anticipated her moved and he managed to catch her in his arms.

"Let go of me," Kate raged. Her fists began hitting Tony in the chest. He just stood there not letting go.

"Kate, I am not letting go, don't push me away," Tony said. Kate soon became too exhausted to fight back and reluctantly accepted his embrace. Slowly they slid down the wall until Kate was sitting in Tony's arms.

"Kate, we need to get back," Tony whispered. Kate nodded. She brushed her clothes. Together they walked back to Abby's lab.

Gibbs looked up when he heard the doors open. DiNozzo, Todd and McGee stood there awaiting their instructions. They were focused. They had to find Richard Jones. "DiNozzo, I want you to run an extensive background check on Jones. He obviously had an accomplice which would explain the highway incident." Gibbs ordered. "Todd, I need to try and trace the history between Jones and Parker and try and trace the money we found in the fax. And McGee assist Abby in tracing the email, maybe he was stupid enough to split up. Then analyze all emails. Try and find history. Open the engine drive or whatever you do." Gibbs said. Abby snickered at the last comment.

"Gibbs it's called a hard drive," Abby said.

"Abbs I don't care get it done and meet back in an hour."

"Yes Boss," The three agents replied before moving off to do their respective tasks. Tony and Kate sat down in the bullpen. Although concentrating on their work they would often sneak a look at each other and smile.

"That's interesting," Tony remarked. His comment gained the attention of his co-workers.

"Define 'interesting', DiNozzo," Gibbs snapped. He looked at the clock on his computer. It read 00:05. He'd hoped his Medical Examiner was looking after the children.

"Richard Jones lived next door to the Parkers for eight years until he was turfed out by the Navy." Tony picked up the remote control and brought up the former Lieutenant's file on the plasma. "He shared the same office space as Lieutenant Parker."

"That is interesting, Tony," McGee pointed out.

"Ah ha!" Tony exclaimed. "But that's not all." Three pairs of eyes focused on him, thinking he was about to unveil one of the worlds hidden secrets. "He was demoted once, seven years ago."

"And that makes it more interesting, how?" Kate asked.

"Captain Parker was the one who brought about his demotion."

"This kidnapping is personal," Gibbs stated.

"If it's not already a double homicide," Kate stated dryly.

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